Recovery
by FictionBlursTheLinesOfReality
Summary: Losing your brother's body once is painful, but losing him a second time can be crippling. Roy/Ed
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note: Hey everyone! This is my first story, and I know the chapter is short, and a little slow, but I feel like the next chapters are better. So please, if this one interests you enough, I encourage you to read further. That shouldn't be hard because I have yet to create a lengthy chapter yet. **_

_**And I finally got around to fixing the point of view change in this chapter; so if you happen to re-read this, it's now fixed!**_

_**Thank you for clicking on this story, and I hope you enjoy! I truly appreciate comments and reviews! Thanks!**_

* * *

Ed sat and stared at his pocket watch. The minute hand seemed to barely move. It had been slowly creeping its way around the circle for quite some time now. Finally, Ed turned his gaze to the surrounding area.

The day was pleasant with a cool breeze whispering through Ed's golden hair. The sky was the brightest of blues and the birds sang in sweet harmony. Ed took another quick glance at his watch before placing it back into his pocket; he then promptly laid down onto the soft grass.

His arms and legs were sprawled out as he stared into the sky. Ed's golden eyes watched the clouds slowly but surely drift across the ever-changing sky.  
Mindlessly, his fingers grasped for the grass that lie all around him. His flesh arm feeling the sleek blades, while his automail only recognized that something was there, right between his metal fingertips.

Ed sighed. He should be happy right now. Overjoyed in fact. He had finally done it. He had fulfilled his promise to his brother and got him his body back. But the only emotion he felt, wasn't even an emotion. It was exhaustion. As if all those years of searching for the philosopher's stone had finally caught up to him. He didn't want to move. He felt numb.

He glanced back at his watch and decided it was time for him to go back inside and join everyone. With a little effort, he got back up and stretched. His automail limbs creaked slightly as he bent over and touched his feet. With another exhausted sigh he slowly made his way to the house.

He dragged his feet up the wooden steps of Winry and Pinako's little home. He gave himself a little shake before reaching out for the door handle. But before he could do anything, the door swung wide open and Winry's vibrant blue eyes greeted him.

"Ed! You finally came back! I was about to send someone out to find you."

"Someone?" he asked slightly confused.

"Well yeah, remember?" she began slowly, being sure to look him directly in the eyes, "Ed, we're all getting together to celebrate Al getting his body back. The celebration is for you both of you."

"How stupid. How could I forget?" Ed thought to himself. He quickly shrugged off his moment of stupidity and looked back at Winry with a bright smile. "Of course I remember! I just didn't know we were inviting people over."

She gave a little laugh before saying, "how could you think we weren't going to invite anyone over? Not everyone has seen Al yet." She then grabbed his arm and led him into the house. She stopped him at a chair and gently sat him in it. "Smile Ed! You finally did it; you got Al back to normal!"

Ed gave her a weak smile, doubt flashed through his eyes. She gave him a worried look before making her way to Al on the other side of the little room. She sat down right beside him; her eyes immediately lit up. Edward could tell something was different. Winry wasn't acting quite normal. She seemed...happier than her usual self. He then turned his gaze to Al and examined him. He was acting abnormal as well. They were all smiles and giggles. They playfully prodded at one another and spoke in whispers. "Do they, like each other?" Ed thought to himself. But he didn't even have to question it, after another moment or two of observation, it was clear as day to him; those two were in love. However, it wasn't that unexpected to Ed. When they were little, before all the madness happened to them, Winry always seemed to favor Al just a little more than Ed. At the time, he took no notice, or maybe he didn't care, but now it was glaringly obvious. He smiled to myself. "Way to go Al, you're only back to normal for a few weeks and you already got the girl." he had to hand it to him, Winry was beautiful. But she wasn't quite his type.

After Edward was pleased with his conclusion regarding their love lives, he looked around the room to see who was already here. Just the neighbors; they were having a conversation with Granny. He decided that it was okay for him to take a brief nap before all of these other unknown guests were to arrive. He crossed his legs and leaned his head back with his eyes shut in an attempt to get comfortable. The peaceful moment didn't last long before Ed heard the bellowing voice of Leuitenant Armstrong.

Armstrong barged through the door, loud as ever, and grinned at everyone in the room. "We have arrived!" he announced.

Ed couldn't help but smirk, some things never changed. Alex Armstrong was definitely one of those people. As he paraded his way into the house Ed looked to see who else he was with. At first, no one else followed him in, and he wondered if he meant that 'he' had arrived. However, he stood corrected almost instantly as Leuitenant Hawkeye made her way through the door followed by Hughes and his family. Then came Havoc, Breda, and even Falman.

The whole group was here, except for one, Ed noticed. He shrugged, "why does it not surprise me that he didn't show? Typical." he scoffed quietly.

He decided that he could still steal a quick power nap for a few minutes if he shut his eyes now, but instead, his eyes darted to the door when he heard the handle begin to turn. His golden eyes widened a little as Roy Mustang walked into the house.


	2. Chapter 2

Ed stared as Mustang slowly walked into the little home. His golden gaze never left the dark-haired man as he made his way towards the group of his friends talking with Al.

"Evening, Fullmetal." Mustang smirked as he gave Ed a sideways glance.

Ed gave a quick snort of annoyance as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes again. "I didn't think you'd show Mustang."

"Now why wouldn't I show up to an occasion such as this Fullmetal?" he asked Ed whilst looking directly into his golden eyes. "You don't really think that I'm that much of a bastard that I wouldn't even show up to see your brother's true body? Or that I wouldn't come to congratulate you?"

Ed took a moment, and just stared back into Mustang's black eyes. His jaw clenched for a split second before turning into a smirk. Eyes closed and hands placed comfortably behind his head he responded, "Well, you have been known to surprise me before."

Roy gritted his teeth, "I thought you would know me a little better by now Edward. After all that we went through..." he began to trail off, eyes darkening, "I'm just a little disappointed in you."

After a moment of Ed not responding to his words, he turned to leave. Ed still sat comfortably as he listened to Mustang's rubber clad footsteps slowly fade away to the other side of the room. He lazily opened one of his eyes to make sure no one was looking at him. He gave a sigh of relief when he knew everyone's full attention seemed to be fixated on Al. He didn't need anyone staring at him right now. Too many thoughts were whirling around his mind. "Fine, maybe Mustang wasn't the complete bastard he made him out to be, but why would the guy be disappointed in him? They always communicated with one another this way. Through argumentative words and conversation." Ed bit back a snarl as he continued to think. "More importantly, why did he even care? And since when did Mustang's opinion matter to him at all?" He clenched his automail fist in frustrated confusion before slowly exhaling. He needed to calm down. Tonight was about Al's safe return, and friends congratulating him for being the one who helped his little brother back to his true self.

He cursed himself for being so stupid and ungrateful earlier. The way he laid out solitary in the grass, ignoring the world. How could he do that after all he went through with Al? How could he not be spending time with him? What type of brother was he if he just abandoned Al after all those years of working and trying to discover a way to get themselves back to normal? True, Ed didn't succeed with himself, but he did what he truly intended to do in the first place; get Al's body back.

For the first time in a while, he smiled to himself. Why had it taken this long for it to sink in? He truly was overjoyed to have gotten Al back to normal. He actually couldn't believe he finally had done it. They really did it; together.

Ed stretched before standing up. He looked over at the happy group of people he called friends. Everyone wore a smile on his or her face as laughter erupted in a deep bellow from Armstrong. Apparently it was contagious because Ed found a smile spreading across his lips. And after a moment of admiring, he made his way over to the group.

"Now guys, I know you're not gonna give Al all the attention right?" Ed smirked as he stood just outside of the group and motioned towards Al with his automail arm.

All the voices in the room burst out with even more volume and laughter than they had seconds before. And collectively they all gave Ed a group hug. "Oh all right stop it! Enough! You're gonna suffocate me!" Ed managed to say through all the bodies surrounding him. One by one they let go until only Hughes was left.

"Edward," he began as he placed his hand on Ed's shoulder and held eye contact, "we're all so proud of you. We always knew you boys would figure out a way to get Al back to normal." He smiled. "And guess what you're mission is to do now?"

Ed looked up at Hughes warily, "...mission?"

Hughes continued to grin largely at Ed and said, "You're mission Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, is to take a break. Rest. You deserve it. All of us can see how exhausted you are. As well as Al. And when you're feeling like you have finally recovered, then, and only then, can you return to active duty."

Shock flickered in Ed's eyes. He hadn't expected to be allowed a leave for as long as he needed. He expected to be dragged back into the military with no break. A relieved sigh escaped his body, "thanks Hughes. I needed this."

"No problem at all Edward!" he grinned. Maes then looked around the room of all the familiar faces. Winry, Al, Mustang, Hawkeye, Breda, Falman, Havoc, Miss Pianako, Armstrong, Ed, and his beautiful family. He shut his eyes for a brief second, and opened them as he said, "Well now that Edward is finally here we can officially get this celebration under way! Miss Pinako! Is the cake ready?"

Ed looked expectantly in Granny's direction as she answered Hughes' question.

"Yes Mr., Hughes, I believe the cake is finally done." she smiled. "Let me go ice it and then we can dig in."

"Thank you!" he turned back to the group, "well, let's continue out chatter while we wait." he beamed.

Ed was relieved to get the spotlight off of him. He relaxed his shoulders a bit and looked at the people around him. His eyes stopped on Roy. He stood, and was completely mesmerized. He drank in Mustang's features. Those pitch black eyes, with the dark hair to match. His strong jaw, and seemingly muscular build. Thoughts began to flood his mind before reality set in and Ed realized Mustang noticed he was staring. He had been caught red-handed, but he wasn't going to let Mustang say anything about this. So he quickly averted his gaze over to Al. His little brother, who bore a striking resemblance to himself. Ed smiled. He missed those warm eyes, and joyful smile. He had missed the sound of Al's voice so that it didn't sound like it had a metal tone to it.

Al finally tore his eyes away from Winry for a moment to return Ed's smile. He seemed relieved that Ed was finally smiling himself. Nothing was going to ruin this night. Everything was perfect.

The smell of the freshly baked cake drifted by Ed's nose, and as if hypnotized he followed the scent to the kitchen. Ed wasn't even halfway there before a loud bang occurred joined with a flash of alchemy. Screams echoed in the small building as Ed whipped around to see what had happened.

A gaping hole was now in the wall right where Al and Winry had been sitting. Everyone was on the floor. Ed frantically looked around for Winry and Al. He found Winry, but no Al.

"AL? ALPHONSE! Where are you?" Ed yelled distressed.

Mustang groaned as he tried to get back on his feet. "Ed..."

"Where's Al Mustang? Where is he?" Ed screamed as he grabbed Mustang by the collar.

"He's gone Ed. They took him."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading my story so far. It means a lot that people are interested! **_

_**This is my first story, so bear with my as I am still getting a handle on how to write good, and how to portray these characters correctly.**_

_**I also know these chapters have been fairly short, but I am working on making them longer.**_

_**So thank you once again for reading, I appreciate it whether you comment or not, and please enjoy this new chapter!**_

* * *

"What do you mean he's gone colonel?! Who took him?!" Ed screeched. His lips curled into a ferocious snarl, eyebrows knit into a vicious scowl. The anger clearly visible upon his young face.

"Ed. I don't know." he stopped, letting out a frustrated sigh. Rubbing his temple with his forefingers. "All I saw was an alchemist. And several other men with guns accompanied him. I'm sorry I can't tell you more." The expression on his face showed true regret.

"DAAAAMN IT!" Ed growled. He threw Mustang back down onto the floor and immediately ran towards the gaping whole in the wall. "ALPHONSE! ALPHONSE!" he screamed helplessly into the depths of the shadowy night. He sprinted around the perimeter of the house aimlessly, looking for any evidence that might point him in the direction of his brother's kidnappers. "Damn it! Those bastards must have left some trace of which way they went!" His golden eyes searched the surrounding area frantically, hoping he missed something. He was quickly losing hope when he spotted what appeared to be tire tracks a little ways down the dusty road that led to Winry and Pinako's home.

He didn't give it a second thought and began to run towards the dark indents in the dirt road. But his efforts were suddenly foiled when he felt strong arms wrap around his torso.

"LET GO OF ME!" Ed snarled.

"Fullmetal," Roy began, "just what do you think you're doing?" he asked Ed. Almost murmuring the words into his ear.

"Let me go Mustang! I've got to find Al!" Ed hollered almost pleadingly.

"Edward I can't let you go. As your commanding officer I order you to stay here with us until we figure out what our next move will be." Roy ordered.

If Ed hadn't been struggling to break free as much, he might have noticed the sorrowful tone that took hold of Mustang's voice for a split second. Ed had always known Mustang to be a cold person. Always concealing his true emotions behind cleverly built masks.

"I've got to find Al! He isn't strong enough yet! He's still recovering from the gate! " Ed spat as he continued to writhe and struggle in Mustang's grip.

"Edward..." he began softly, "I can't let you go. Not alone. You're still recovering too. Please. Just wait. We'll figure out a plan." his voice pleading to the young man.

"I've got to-" he stifled back a sob, "find Al. I've got to...I-I can't abandon him..." tears began to quietly stream their way down his face.

Mustang's grip around him slowly loosened, and turned into a gentler embrace. "Ed. We'll get your brother back. I swear it to you."

Ed eyes were concealed by his blonde bangs, as he gave a slow nod, indicating it was okay to let go of him. Roy's grip released Ed and he sat on his knees with his head hung low. He stared downwards through blurry vision as the water from his eyes splattered and fell to the dry earth. After a moment, he composed himself and wiped the tears from his eyes. And one quick sniffle later he was back on his feet with his normal facial expression in place. "So what's the plan colonel? How are we gonna get Al back?"

"Well, to be honest, we don't know much about who took him," he sighed heavily, "and unfortunately I didn't get a very good look at the alchemist either," he rubbed his forehead in irritation, "I was caught off guard. I'm sorry Fullmetal." he finished looking into Ed's eyes.

"It's not your fault Mustang." he responded with his voice nearly back to normal. "But can't we figure something out with knowing at least that piece of information?"

"That depends, did you ever know anyone who had a vendetta against Al?"

Ed racked his brain carefully, grasping to remember any little piece of information regarding his brother. "Who would want to harm Al? It has to be someone who knows quite a bit about him, otherwise how would they know where and when to strike? They struck at his most vulnerable..." Ed thought intently.

"Well? Anything?" Mustang asked; expectancy written all over his usually serious/expressionless face.

"Nothing..." he answered with a frustrated sigh; his fists tightening.

"It's okay Edward, we'll find him. We'll get him back." the dark haired man assured him.

Ed's face slowly began to darken; no hope was visible, as he spoke again, "Aren't we wasting time by just sitting around? Why don't we just catch up to them now before they hurt Al? It makes the most sense."

Roy's mask fell back onto his face; "Fullmetal, we can't leave without supplies. Let us at least do that before we depar-"

"Who said anything about _we_?" Ed cut him off. "I'm getting _my_brother back. You know, screw this; I don't even know why I asked you if you had a plan in the first place. I'm leaving now to find my brother. And you can't stop me!" With those words said, Ed started into a sprint down the road.

"Fullmetal! Edward! Wait! Come back!" Roy yelled hoarsely.

Ed didn't even take a second to look back at Mustang yelling his name; he just kept running; allowing his feet to take him wherever the tracks led. Ed didn't know where this road would eventually take him, but he knew it would aid him in finding his brother. He knew that he would find him again, no matter the cost. There was no way in hell he was going to lose him again. He was going to make sure the bastards paid for stealing Al away from him. Didn't they know who they were dealing with?

As flesh and automail feet thundered across the hard earth, Ed's mind whirled with countless thoughts and ideas. He didn't take any notice of the beautiful surroundings of Risenbol. No, he didn't stop to admire the trees in bloom, or the fresh grass fields; he just kept running. Too distracted with thoughts of Al. And too distracted with unwanted thoughts of Mustang. He couldn't believe he allowed himself to cry in front of that smug bastard.

Ed began to slow his pace once he reached a fork in the road. Quickly clearing his mind of any unnecessary thoughts, he put all of his attention on the road before him. He stopped and let his golden eyes squint into slits as he tried to examine the ground in the darkness. Without any luck of seeing anything useful from his current standing position, he eased his way into a crouch and balanced himself with his right automail hand. He glided his hands over the ground to feel for any abnormal indentations; hoping the car left more traces of where it was heading. Slamming his right fist into the ground out of anger he got back up without a clue to the car's whereabouts. The gears in his head turned desperately as he tried to deduce which road these bastards would have most likely taken. Glancing to his right he wondered if they had gone through the little town that he himself had never even visited; or if they had gone to Central. "Going to Central was like suicide if you were on the wrong side of the military..." he thought to himself, a deep scowl and eyebrows knit tightly together accompanied his thought process. "But going through a small town, people would notice if any strangers came through...so maybe they would go to Central; just to pass through quickly undetected."

An angry growl escaped his throat as he considered all the possibilities of which way these faceless people might of went. He weighed the pros and cons of each possibility carefully; hoping it would help him come to a solid decision. As the time slowly began to slip by, Ed realized he needed to hurry. Mustang and the others would soon catch up to him if he didn't make a decision fast. He grit his teeth and shut his eyes; and in a split second his golden eyes flashed open again, and he began to run down the fork to the right.

* * *

"Colonel, are you all right?" Hawkeye inquired Mustang as he still sat on the dirt path.

"Yes I'm alright Lieutenant." Mustang answered his subordinate as he got to his feet.

"What happened sir? Did you allow Fullmetal to leave?"

"No. I didn't. He ran off briefly after I let him out of my grasp." he admitted.

"I see. What's out next mode of action then sir?" she asked calmly.

"First, let's get back inside and let everyone know where Fullmetal went. Then we'll figure out our plans for what to do next."

"Yes sir." the Lieutenant answered as she and Roy made their way back to the broken home.

As they walked up the steps Hawkeye stopped Roy. She placed her hand on his shoulder as she spoke, "Sir, are you alright? You look a little shaken up."

"Yes Lieutenant, I'm fine. I'm just a little worried I suppose. Edward is right; Al isn't strong enough to defend himself yet. I understand why he didn't wait to figure out a plan." he glanced at Riza before continuing, "And that's why we need to figure out our plan quickly and catch up with him so he doesn't get hurt either."

She nodded, "right."

They finally stepped into the house and Roy looked over the damage. Besides the huge hole in the side of the house, only a few chairs were broken; nothing a little alchemy couldn't fix. Then he realized that Ed wasn't there to fix it, and that someone else would have to fix the house with good old-fashioned manual labor. He gave his head a little shake; sometimes his fire alchemy was so useless.

Getting out of his own head he looked around with hard black eyes at the people in the room. No one was harmed, thank goodness. He waited a moment until everyone was quiet and had their attention directed at him before he spoke.

"Fullmetal has already left to retrieve Alphonse." he began calmly and assertively. "Our objective is to get both boys back home and safe. First we will track down Edward and give him any aid he may need."

"Colonel, are we all going after Fullmetal?" Armstrong cut in.

"No, we are not. I will need one of you to stay here and help Miss Winry and Pinako fix the damage done to their home. Then half of us will make our way back to Central Command, while the others track down Fullmetal. And since you so nicely interrupted my orders major, you're more than welcome to stay here and help with the rebuilding of this home." he chuckled.

"Yes sir!" Armstrong replied with a salute.

"Now," Roy began looking at his remaining officers, "Havoc, you Falman, and Breda will be on the squad heading back to Central. Lieutenant Hawkeye and I will go out and search for Fullmetal."

"Roy, I think you forgot someone." Maes smirked.

"I didn't forget you Hughes, I need you to go back to Central as well. I need you to be my eyes and ears while I'm not there. You will keep me updated on any information you can find out about this case." Roy ordered before a smile crept it's way through his mask, "besides, I'm sure you would like to make sure your lovely wife and daughter make it home safely."

"Thank you Roy," Maes smiled back, "and don't worry, you know me; I always got your back. I will immediately contact you with any piece of information I uncover."

"I know you will."

Roy nodded as he took one last glance around the room. "Alright men, you know your orders; dismissed!"

"Yes sir!" the officers responded as they saluted their commanding officer.

He looked to Riza, mask still in place, "you ready Lieutenant?"

"I'm ready whenever you are sir."

"Then let's head out. You got any necessary supplies already I assume?"

"Of course sir, I'm always one step ahead of you." she smiled.

"That you are Lieutenant." he smiled back thankfully, letting his guard down just a tad.

With those words said, Roy bid everyone a farewell, and set out with Riza by his side to find Edward. He was anxious and worried. Worried that Ed would do something reckless in order to get Alphonse back. He was still recovering from his battle with that repulsive humonculous that tried to take over Amestris, and that worried Roy to no end.

As much as he hated to admit it even to himself, he felt protective over Edward; and not in a commanding officer/subordinate kind of way that he felt for people like Riza and Jean. No; these may be actual feelings for the blonde.

Over the years, Roy had watched Ed grow up and mature into the young man he was today. And in that time it was hard to ignore that Ed also became even more visually appealing. He had become a very attractive young man, and it made Roy's stomach twist in knots whenever his mind wandered to thoughts such as this. Whatever these feelings he had for the golden-eyed teen, he could never bring himself to sort them out. Having relations with a subordinate was illegal in the military; it could cost him his position and in turn, cost him becoming the Furher on day. Roy couldn't risk that for some measly feelings; even if these ones seemed different. No matter how much he wanted to reach out and stroke Ed's blonde hair from his face, to find out what these feelings meant, he knew he never could. He let out a disappointed sigh.

"Sir?" Hawkeye asked slightly concerned.

"Hm?" Roy responded before he realized that he had stopped walking. Riza stood staring at him, wondering why he had stopped moving.

"Are you all right Colonel? You appear to be...distracted."

"I'm sorry Lieutenant, I don't know what came over me; let's keep moving." Roy quickly informed her, making sure he hid behind his mask.

"Yes sir." she nodded.

Roy was thankful Riza didn't ask too many questions. He knew that she knew him well enough to be aware that he probably was lying, but she never pushed anything.

Roy took a moment to clear his mind, and finally started to walk again. He was going to find Ed, and he was going to find Al. Nothing would stop him from bringing those boys home safely.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author's Note: Here is the new chapter guys! Sorry it took a bit longer to get out than the first three. I have been busy. But thanks again for reading, whether you are guest or website user, I truly appreciate it. I also appreciate feedback, doesn't matter if it's just nice or if it's criticism , anything helps me become a better writer. That is my goal. =) I hope you enjoy this chapter! I think it's my longest one so far._**

**_P.S. There is another point of view change in here like the last chapter. I didn't get any complaints about it last time about it, but I just wanted to clarify to make sure no one got confused this time. =)_**

* * *

Ed continued to jog down the dark road; it had only been a couple hours since he had ran away and told Mustang off. During his isolation on the road, he had more than enough time to sift through the flurry of thoughts and emotions that swirled about his mind. At first the only thing comprehendible to Ed was blinding rage and anger. But as he continued to run, that anger and rage slowly began to ebb away and was replaced with feelings of guilt and worry.

As his legs carried him further and further down the dusty path, the guilt clawed more viscously at his insides; why couldn't he have prevented Al from being stolen? How could this have happened literally right behind his back? Why wasn't he able to save his brother from something as simple as this? Why must old wounds be ripped back open and torn apart so suddenly?

These questions weighed heavily on Ed as he silently ran through the frigid night air. His face scrunched in a permanent scowl as he tried to procure answers to these seemingly answerless questions.

On top of drowning in questions about himself and of his brother's well being, thoughts of Roy Mustang wriggled their way into Ed's already occupied mind. It annoyed him to no end, because what right did he have to be thinking about that smug bastard anyway? His sole focus should be on Al, not Mustang. Why should he feel sorry for ditching him anyway? He obviously wasn't going to take the immediate necessary action that was needed to help out his brother. He had needed to act, and he did. He didn't need Roy Mustang's help to find Al. After all, Ed had done the impossible before.

Even with all the excuses and reasons he made up to justify leaving the colonel behind, Ed still felt the guilt linger inside him. Ed shuddered, nearly repulsed with himself. He didn't understand his fascination with the older man. Upon first meeting Mustang, Ed sized him up to be a phony. A man who simply had one aim in life; to become furher. A man who would let nothing and no one get in his way on his rise to the top. It sickened Ed that some people only seemed to crave power in life, and he knew that Al and himself would probably only be considered nuisances to the colonel when he had first become a dog of the military.

However, slowly over the time Ed had been a part of the Amestris military, his annoyance and disgust with Mustang waned. With distaste, Ed began to become attracted to the dark haired man. He always knew he had been different; he never looked at girls the same way as someone like Al may have. He never got those funny little butterflies around girls; no, he had no psychical attraction to women. But when it came to other men, well, that was a different story.

Ed didn't care if being gay was considered weird or abnormal; it was how he felt and who he was as a person, he couldn't change that. And in his eighteen years, he hadn't exactly had time to date anyway. So being scrutinized and judged for his particular taste in lovers was never an issue. Still, he didn't like that he had to develop a crush on Roy Mustang. Of all people, why him? The guy clearly only cared about his personal agenda. Yes, he may have helped him out in fighting the father homunculus, but that didn't change much. He still was the same smug, and annoyingly attractive, bastard to Ed. Even if he may have some sort of feelings towards his commanding officer, Mustang would never reciprocate them back. What could he possibly have to offer him? Ed knew that Mustang most likely loathed him. He only had ever caused trouble for the older man. Yet, if he was so convinced that Mustang hated him, why was he even conflicted about this issue in the first place?

Ed gave an angry snort; irritated with himself, "damn Mustang" he muttered under his breath.

He tried to clear his mind, and became more aware of his current surroundings. The sky had finally begun to lighten ever so slightly; he had no idea it had been so long since he ran off from Winry and Pinako's home. He realized with a pang from his stomach that he was hungry, and he was nearing the point of exhaustion. He had been so preoccupied that he hadn't even noticed his body screaming at him for rest. With a huff, he slowed his pace to a brisk walk. Craning his neck, Ed tried to see if the town was visible yet. A glimmer of relief flashed in his golden eyes when he could barely make out the silhouettes of houses. Slowing down even more, Ed continued to walk down the path that led to the little town.

* * *

"Sir, are you certain that Edward would have gone this way?" Hawkeye asked Mustang a bit unsure.

"Positive. Fullmetal wouldn't assume these kidnappers would willingly go through Central knowing that the army will most likely be on the lookout for suspicious people. He would assume they will try to remain as inconspicuous as possible; after all, why would these people risk being exposed going through such a large city filled with soldiers?"

"I see sir. You seem to know a lot about the way Fullmetal operates. Any reason why?" she asked casually.

Roy hesitated for a brief moment, debating on how to answer the question. He trusted Riza with his life, but he didn't feel it necessary to inform her of his fondness of Ed. "I'm simply observant Lieutenant." He stopped before smirking and continuing, "like I've noticed how you always check up on me through the corner of your eye to make sure I'm doing all of my paperwork. Or how I know you wouldn't even give a moments hesitation to protect any one of the men in our squad; even if that means putting yourself in harms way." pleased with his answer, he finished and glanced at Riza as they continued to walk through the early morning sun.

A smile crept on Riza's normally serious face, "I guess you are observant colonel."

Roy smiled back and nodded. Silence ensued once again as the two continued their trek down the dusty road that Ed had most likely taken before them. Morning had already arrived as he and Hawkeye began to near the little town. Roy prayed that Ed was still in the town searching for clues, instead of already searching farther for the people who stole Alphonse away from him.

"Do you think Edward is still in the town sir?"

He hesitated, his face twisted into an uncertain scowl, "that, I can't be sure of Lieutenant. There are many factors involved that would determine if he would still be in town or not." Head cocked slightly to the side in a thoughtful manner, he paused; considering all the possibilities for a moment before continuing, "for example, maybe he decided he needed to get some rest and supplies before heading out further. Or maybe he just felt the need to simply scope the place out quickly for any abnormalities in order to keep ahead of us. I say that only because I assume Fullmetal is intelligent enough to know that we will be trying to find him."

"Even if he isn't sure that we will even consider going to this small town to look for him or Al." Hawkeye added.

"Exactly."

Walking a little farther, the cozy little town came into view. Roy gave a sigh; relived to finally arrive. He and Hawkeye had been walking all night without rest, it would be nice to stop for a little bit and catch their breaths. Mustang had wanted to take the car in order to catch up with Edward, but realized that Maes would need it more than him to make a swift return to Central with his family.

The thought of Ed again made Roy's stomach twist into anxious knots. He worried about the teen's safety. He knew how reckless Edward could be when it came to his younger brother's well being. He shuddered to think of what he might sacrifice this time to retrieve Al from the clutches of the kidnappers. All Roy wanted to do was find Ed, and let him know everything was going to be okay. That he had overcome even more difficult tasks before; that he could save Alphonse once more. Roy then remembered the likely possibility that Edward probably disliked Roy; a lot. He was surprised when his heart grew heavy with sorrow at the mere thought of Fullmetal hating him. He pushed the depressing thoughts aside as he and the Lieutenant finally walked into town.

They walked slowly; examining the town for Ed, or anyone who looked suspicious. It was still fairly early, so not many places were open. He looked around for a good place for him and Riza to take a break, and to question anyone who may have seen Fullmetal or any strangers pass through the town.

The pair came upon a small diner; it was already open, even in this early hour of the day. Roy opened the door, allowing Riza to enter first before following.

An older woman stood at the counter of the tiny diner; her hair whitened with age was pulled back into a bun, her face was wrinkled and she wore a used to be white apron around her thick waist. She immediately turned her head and smiled in his and Riza's direction when she heard then door open.

Sitting down on the burgundy stools at the counter, she greeted them with bright hazel eyes; "well hello there! You two are up quite early! What can I get the nice couple?"

"Oh, we're not a coupl-"

"We'll take whatever your specialty is, and some coffee please." Riza interrupted.

"Should be ready in about ten minutes." she smiled before heading towards the kitchen.

"We'll take about a twenty-five minute break here sir, then head back out to look for Edward."

"Sounds good Lieutenant." he nodded his approval.

And ten minutes later, just as the old woman said, she appeared with their freshly cooked meals. The diner's specialty turned out to be eggs and sausage, and unfortunately the pair didn't exactly enjoy the kind old woman's cooking. Regardless, they ate the food because they did in fact need the substance. Once their meals were consumed, they drank their coffee, which was significantly more delicious.

While finishing up his hot drink, Roy decided he might as well question this woman to see if she knew anything by chance. Better to ask then to not and regret it later.

"Mam, may I ask you a few questions?" he asked sweetly in that voice he used when he wanted something from someone.

"Well of course you may young sir! Shoot!" she beamed back at the dark haired man.

He chuckled inwardly to himself, he could wrap any woman around his finger it seemed; "I was just curious if you noticed any strangers come through town last night. They would have been driving a car, and there was a few men and a teenage boy."

She stood for a moment and considered what Roy had just asked her. "No, I can't say that any strangers passed through here last night. And I'm actually the reliable one in town to ask about little things like that." she smiled.

"Oh really? How so?" he asked, curious.

"Oh deary boy, it's cause I hardly ever sleep. And just about any noise will wake my little self up! And in case you were wondering, there have been folks who pass through here in their vehicles before, and they sure did wake me up with those loud engines of theirs. So if a car did pass through here last night, I would have most certainly known about it."

"I see. Well that is extremely helpful mam. Thank you for that information. Now I have just one more question for you; did you happen to see a young man in town? He probably would have been here only a few hours ago. He isn't very tall, long blonde hair in a braid, and a bright red coat."

"Now you're testing an old lady's memory!" she giggled blushing a bit in Mustang's direction.

Roy noticed Riza give a slight eye roll at the sight. He smirked; it always annoyed her that any woman was putty in his hands. Well, every one except her. Roy didn't care though, he didn't need to control her, and she had a will of her own, which he respected. And he knew that Hawkeye didn't get annoyed out of jealousy or anything like that, she simply just disliked the fact that women always seemed to throw themselves at him for no apparent reason. It amused him to no end to see her lose her composure over this sometimes.

It took Roy a moment to realize that the older woman had already started to answer his question while he had been entertaining himself over Riza's apparent annoyance.

"-did see a boy of that description earlier! I had just woken up, and I had looked down from my window upstairs, and there he stood. It appeared he was looking into the window right over there," she motioned towards the diner's door, "but of course not even I was open for business yet, and he left after a few moments."

Hope grew inside Roy as he finally knew that he was right about Edward heading this direction. He knew now that he could probably catch up to him.

Apparently his newfound hopeful thoughts of Ed lasted longer than he knew, because Hawkeye ended up asking the next question.

"And he left town after that? Or is there any lodgings here?"

"We do have a hotel miss, but it's very small. I couldn't tell you if he stayed or left town. But I can tell you that he did head in the opposite direction of the way you two just came."

"Thank you mam. That's all we needed to know. And thank you for the meals." Riza said as she handed the woman some money for the food.

"Yes, thank you." Roy added in quickly as they both stood up and left the diner.

"I assume you would like to check out the hotel then sir? To see if Edward decided to stay there for a bit?"

"Yes Lieutenant. Let's go."

"Sir." she responded nodding her head in compliance.

They strolled down the middle of the town; looking for the small hotel the woman had informed them of. They shortly found it and entered; it was indeed a small facility, and it wasn't very cleanly either. Roy scrunched his nose up in disgust as he and the Lieutenant approached the front desk. Ringing the bell, they waited for assistance.

Roy leaned over to Riza's ear and murmured, "If I were Fullmetal I think I would consider sleeping on the dirt road as opposed to sleeping in this dump..."

Riza smirked at the comment, but it quickly disappeared as someone approached the front counter.

"What can I do to assist you folks?" the man asked them.

Roy cleared his throat and placed his mask firmly back on before speaking, "we're here only to see if a young man had or is still checked in to this hotel. He is a little on the short side, has long blonde hair that may be in a braid, and wears a bright red coat with black clothes."

"Yeah, I might have seen a kid that looked like that. What's it to ya?" the man sneered at Roy.

"Of course this man would be like this." Roy thought to himself. On more occasions than he would have liked, Roy had run into people who weren't very fond of the military. Many people loathed the army for different reasons. Maybe they were mistreated by an officer, maybe a loved one was killed by a solider, or their loved one was a solider who died in action. Or maybe some people still disagreed with the Ishval War. Roy couldn't blame them for any of the reasons it could be, but it did make his job more difficult when people weren't cooperative.

"I am Colonel Roy Mustang, and this is Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. We're looking for the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric, or the young man I just described to you. We know he was heading towards this town, and we are making sure to look around for him before leaving to search further. It is imperative that we find him. So sir, I apologize if our presence here is an inconvenience for you at the moment, but I would really appreciate it if you could tell me anything you may know about Fullmetal's whereabouts." he finished with a serious tone; eyes darkening ever so slightly.

The man looked a little afraid suddenly; considering his options. But to Roy's relief he chose the right one, "yeah colonel, I did see that kid. He stopped by here and woke me up from the pleasant dream I was having about this really beautiful woman and we were-"

Roy stopped him before he could tell further detail of his most likely inappropriate fantasy, and urged him to simply tell them what he knew about Edward.

The man's face turned a light shade of red embarrassment before he began to talk again, "Oh yeah, the kid. Well he woke me up and asked if there were any rooms available. And I told him we were booked. He got kinda pissed and then stormed out. I think he headed to the north end of town." he finished.

Roy glanced around the small hotel lobby, "you're booked? How many rooms do you have?" he questioned slightly disbelieved.

"We have ten rooms. All full."

"So you're telling me that this little, practically unknown town has at least ten people visiting and staying here?"

"Well..." he began nervously, "yes and no. You see, there is a few rooms taken, but the rest just aren't good enough to let people stay in."

"Makes sense..." Mustang huffed under his breath to himself.

"What was that?" the man asked, a hint of offense in his voice.

"Oh nothing. Well thanks for the information. It was very helpful, good day. Let's go Lieutenant."

"Yes sir."

The two officers quickly left the hotel to breathe air that didn't stink of something like dead animal. They walked a little ways and stopped again to sit at a singular bench placed awkwardly in the middle of town.

"What next sir? It seems that Fullmetal has already left town. And that the unknown suspects didn't even go this way." she asked Mustang a little tired sounding.

"I need to make a call." he stated firmly.

"I think I actually saw a phone in that diner, should we go back there?"

"Yes."

Making their way back to the diner, Roy was irritated with the lack of information he received about Alphonse's kidnappers. And he was annoyed that they didn't find Ed, even if they had a good idea of which direction he took. He let out a sigh as he and Riza walked back into the old woman's diner.

"Oh you're back already are you? Did you enjoy the food that much?" she asked excitedly.

"Hello again mam." he smiled back, "actually, we were wondering if we could use your phone real quick?"

"Of course! Help yourself."

"Thank you."

He headed over to the phone and listened to the familiar ringing sound. He waited until Hughes picked up.

"Hello?" he heard his friend say.

"Hey Hughes. How's it going?"

"Roy! Hey there! It's good. You find Ed yet?"

"Negative. And we also found out that the kidnappers didn't even come through this town." he said angrily.

"You're certain they didn't?"

"Positive."

"I see. Well, I assume you called then to see if I figured anything out yet?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry Roy. I got nothing. Not yet at least. But now we know they took the route towards Central. Now we can keep an extra good lookout here in case they are still in the city, or see if they haven't even arrived yet."

"Thanks Hughes. Sounds good."

"You going to keep looking for Ed?" he asked curiously, his tone carrying hints of humor in it.

"Yes..." Roy began, unsure of what his friend was implying. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh no reason Roy. No reason at all."

Roy could almost hear his friend smirking like an idiot through the phone. He gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Is that all Hughes?"

"Sure is! Unless you have anything else to add?"

"No. Contact me if you find out anything else. And if you don't contact me first, I'll most likely be contacting you again within a few days. Hopefully we'll have Ed with us when I do."

"Will do. Be safe Roy. You and Riza both."

"I will."

With those words said, Roy hung up the phone and went over to where Hawkeye sat patiently at a table.

"What's the plan sir?"

"We're still going to look for Fullmetal. We'll contact Hughes again once we find him. Or Hughes said he'd somehow contact us if he finds out any more information on the kidnappers. After all, the only possible way they could have went is towards Central if they didn't go this way."

"Yes sir, you're right. Well are we ready to head out again then?"

"Yes, Ed's got a few hours on us still, let's go close that gap."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's Note: I apologize that this chapter is significantly shorter than the rest of the chapters, but I thought this was a necessary chapter with a nice cliffhanger. I hope you enjoy! And thank you for reading!**_

* * *

Alphonse woke up with a start. His mind was groggy and his head was pounding like he had been hit in the head with a hammer. He groaned in pain and confusion. Where was he? He couldn't remember a thing. How did he get here? What exactly had happened at the party at Winry's house? Winry. Where was she?

Al opened his eyes slowly. A light radiating from an unknown source shown brightly onto his face. He tried lifting his hand to shield his light brown eyes from the attacking beam, but failed when his arm wouldn't budge. He stopped; confused. Why couldn't he move his arm? Squinting his eyes, he looked over to his immobile arm; it was strapped down. Alarmed he looked to his left arm and saw that it also was secured tightly in place by his side.

Al began to struggle, the grogginess of his mind slowly ebbing away. His heart was racing in his chest; where was he? What was going on? Who had tied him down? Trying to free his arms, he discovered, not to his surprise, that his legs too were in the same predicament as his captive arms. He began to panic. What was the meaning of this? What happened to everyone else? As he continued his feeble attempt to free himself, he froze as a voice suddenly rang through the darkness surrounding him and the blinding light.

"Ahhh. I see you are finally awake. For awhile I thought you might have died." the voice said remorselessly as it sent chills down Al's spine.

"Who are you? Where am I? What did you do with Winry and everyone else?" he spat weakly, his strength swiftly deteriorating from the struggle of trying to free himself.

"How do you feel Alphonse?" the feeling less voice asked, ignoring all of Al's demands, "do you feel weak? Not surprising since you're still recovering from the gate."

"H-how do you know about that?" Al asked shakily.

"Alphonse, my dear boy. Who doesn't know about the Elric brothers? You and your brother Edward are practically legend in Amestris now. Of course I know all about you. After all, you and your shrimp of an older brother made quite a scene in Central when he restored your body and defeated that homonculous."

Al could almost hear the man sneering at him as he mentioned Ed. He struggled to think of what his captor could possibly want. He continued to try and get a better look at his surroundings, craning his neck, hoping to see anything that could aid him in an escape.

"You won't be able to escape Alphonse," the man continued, seemingly reading his mind, "you're too weak. I can see it in your eyes, you know it's true. So conserve your strength, you're gonna need it if you want to live and see your beloved Winry again." he chuckled.

"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HER? WHERE IS SHE?" Al screamed, viciously demanding an answer.

"Hit a sensitive spot did I?" the voice laughed insanely delighted, "don't worry your little human head Alphonse Elric, we didn't touch her. Everyone at your little celebration from two nights ago is fine. We left them unharmed. We got what we went in for; you."

"T-two nights? I've been out for that long...?"

"And now you see why I thought you might have been silently dying in your sleep." the voice paused. "But now that you're awake, I don't need to worry about that anymore."

"What do you want from me? What do you have to gain?" Al asked hoarsely.

"Haven't figured it out yet have you? Dear little Alphonse, I don't want you. I want your brother." the man smiled evilly.

"Brother...?" he began slowly, "what do you want with Ed?!" Al asked genuinely alarmed.

"That's for me to know Al. But once I have him, you're free to go home to your dearly beloved Winry. I'm sure she is worried sick about you." chuckling again, the man stopped, simply enjoying the fact that Al was powerless at his hand.

"Ed won't let you have him that easily!" Al yelled at his faceless tormentor.

"Alphonse, dear boy. How stupid do you think I am? I know your brother would do absolutely anything to save you. He has before, there is no doubt in my mind he will surrender himself to me in order to set you free. My plan is fool proof. You can't do anything to change the way this is going to play out; so just lie there, conserve what little energy you currently posses, and enjoy the ride! Cause it will be one hell of a fun one!" the man laughed again; this time increasingly louder, and more like a maniac.

Al shuddered at the inhuman sound. He couldn't let Ed take the fall for this. Yes, he was weak still, but that didn't mean he was useless. He would free himself so that brother didn't have to sacrifice himself. He wouldn't allow Ed to do something to that extent ever again as long as he lived. His thoughts were interrupted when he realized that the laughter has stopped. His heart rate accelerated again when he didn't know where the crazy man had gone.

He soon had his answer when he looked up and saw an all too familiar face.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Author's note: Sorry this one took so long to get out. I've been busy! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Please review and help me become a better writer! Thank you! And thank you so much for reading! It truly brings me joy to know people are interested!_**

**_Oh and I apologize for some of the chapters that had character point of view changes being confusing. I still don't quite have the hang of this website, so I have been having difficulties keeping the lines that divide the change to stay...if that made any sense at all..._**

_**Warning: Brief scene of men getting touchy.**_

* * *

Edward dragged his feet warily across the dry ground. He hadn't had any rest since leaving Winry's home. The idiot man running the lame excuse for a hotel told him that there wasn't any vacancy. He had cussed him out, and left in an angry and exhausted daze. He huffed his annoyance as he continued to drag his way to what he assumed to be Central city.

He slowly lifted his head, opening his half closed eyes and lifting his flesh hand to shield them from the sun. Peering into the distance he attempted to make out how much farther he would have to travel until he arrived at Central. Ed grunted; unsure of how much longer his countryside trek would take. He knew he had to keep moving, if he stopped Mustang and his men would surely catch up to him. And at his current pace, he was positive that they had already gained some ground on him. Acknowledging this, he steadily and unwillingly increased his pace in an attempt to stay ahead of the annoying colonel.

To keep his mind off of his growing weariness, Ed thought of all the information he failed to collect in that sad excuse for a town. He hadn't found out anything new about Al's whereabouts. Nothing indicated that a car had driven through the town, and no one and nothing looked suspicious. These thoughts burned inside him and kept his mind off of his exhaustion. He was frustrated with himself for being wrong; he was almost always right with things like this. He should have known that they wouldn't take Al the most obvious way. What plan was better than doing what your pursuers least expected you to do? It was almost brilliant, and that pissed Ed off.

Ed didn't want to think about his brother still being out of reach and hidden from him. He didn't want to think of how exhausted he was. He just wanted to lie down and sleep. He didn't want to have all these thoughts continually swirling about his mind. The blonde wasn't just psychically tired; he was mentally drained as well. He fought viciously to keep his drooping eyelids open as he continued to pull himself along the winding path to the city. It finally sunk in to his brain that he could go no further in his current condition, and he needed a place to rest.

His sleepy golden eyes scanned the surrounding area; trying to scout out a decent place to sleep out of view. Spotting a nice grove of trees he mustered all the energy he had left and brought himself to it. Nearly falling over, he laid down and let out a sigh of relief. Even though the ground was pretty hard, it felt wonderful to just lay there and shut his eyes. Within minutes Ed drifted off into a much-needed sleep.

* * *

Golden eyelashes slowly began to flutter open. A satisfied yawn released itself from Ed's body as he slowly sat up. He groaned in annoyance reaching his automail limb behind his back. The ground was more stiff than he had realized and now he was paying the price.

"Wonderful. Just what I need, another problem..." he muttered angrily under his breath.

Stretching slowly he worked his way to a standing position; another yawn escaping his mouth as he looked around. He had slept at least a few hours. When he had fallen asleep the sun was still high in the sky. Now it was starting to set. With that realization he became more aware of his surroundings. His body tensed; prepared at any moment to fight or flee. His face scrunched into a familiar scowl as he peered through the trees. Considering the amount of time he had slept, it wasn't dumb to assume that Mustang or his men might have already caught up or passed Ed's current sanctuary without noticing his presence.

In a split second Ed decided to bolt from within the safety of the foliage. He didn't have time to wait around and figure out if the military had caught up with him, he needed to get to Central alone; and fast. If Mustang or his men wanted to take him with them, he wasn't going to let them without a fight. As he ran he realized that he was now starving, and also parched. He cursed himself for not bringing at least a little bit of food to tide him over while he was on the run. Too late to think about that now. He knew he could last all the way to Central.

Edward suddenly wondered if maybe no one was tracking him; and that maybe they had simply headed straight to Central. After all, they did have the most resources there. Why would finding him be a top priority? Surely Al was number one on the list? Even if he had run off and disobeyed a direct order from Mustang to stay.

Ed suddenly stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened to huge golden orbs. His breath caught in his throat as he realized that he had dreamt of someone while he slept.

Mustang.

* * *

"Sir, are you sure you wouldn't like to rest?"

"Yes lieutenant. We have to catch up with Fullmetal. We're bound to be gaining some ground on him by now. He isn't all machine after all...he's only human; he gets tired too." Roy answered his subordinate warily.

His eyes were heavy from the lack of sleep, and his body screamed at him to lie down and rest. But his mind was wide-awake and fiercely determined to find Edward and make sure he was all right. They had been walking all day; constantly on the lookout for signs of Ed. The sky had finally begun to darken, and it beckoned Roy further to give in to his body's desire to lie down, close his weary black eyes, and simply sleep.

He knew he should sleep; he would have to eventually anyway. Why prolong the inevitable? But Roy was a stubborn man, and when he decided on something, he was one hundred percent determined to accomplish the task at hand no matter what. Finding Edward was no different; it needed to be done, and it needed to be done now.

Concern clouded Riza's brown eyes as she spoke again, "Sir, you are clearly exhausted. Please, let's rest. You can sleep first, and I will keep a lookout for a few hours. Then we can switch."

"Lieutenant, I'm-"

Hawkeye stopped, and extended her arm in front of Roy's chest, preventing him from walking any further. "Mustang, don't give me some ridiculous excuse as to why you are capable of continuing on right now. I know you're exhausted. I can see it. Now sir, please don't make me pull out my gun and force you to sleep." her eyes hardened and she stared directly into Roy's dark eyes; communicating with him that she was utterly serious, and she would pull a gun on him if necessary.

Letting his shoulders slump from their usually straight and upward posture, Roy sighed, knowing he couldn't win this, and said, "alright, you win. We can stop. But I think we'll be safe out here; no need for one of us to keep watch."

"What about the chance that we passed Edward?"

"Passed him?" he asked slightly confused by the question.

"Yes. Like you said, he needs rest too. What if we passed him while he was resting? We would have never known. I mean, we weren't looking absolutely everywhere for him as we have walked today."

"I highly doubt we passed him Lieutenant. He is Edward Elric, he won't let something like exhaustion slow him down." he chuckled, "But no really Hawkeye, I don't think we could have possibly passed him."

She nodded before walking a little farther and motioning towards a secluded area from the path they were currently on.

Roy nodded his approval, and headed in her direction.

Laying down, Roy sighed once more, relieved to be finally resting his aching body. He glanced over at Riza as she made herself comfortable in the makeshift bed.

Roy glanced at the sky, the sun was starting to set.

"Well this is gonna screw up my sleeping habits..." he murmured under his breath.

"What was that sir?" Hawkeye asked groggily.

"Nothing, just thinking aloud to myself...get some sleep Riza. That's an order."

"Sir..." Roy heard her manage to say before he began to hear her deeper more steady breathing.

He smirked, "guess I wasn't the only one who was tired."

With one last glance at Riza's sleeping frame, Mustang closed his eyes and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Edward stood frozen in shock at his realization. He had dreamt of Mustang. His mind whirled around inside his head.

Sure, he had thought about Mustang in some maybe not completely appropriate scenarios before, but those were always while he was wide awake; not when he was asleep.

This concerned Ed, you had no control of what you dreamt about; meaning he was subconsciously thinking about Mustang. He tried to shake away this revelation reeling away inside his brain. But the more he tried to rid it, the more it fought to stay.

The foggy images from the dream began to slowly become clearer; and what Ed saw in his mind made him blush.

_He and Mustang were alone in his office. It was dark, so everyone had already headed home for the night. Mustang sat comfortably behind his desk, as usual, while Ed stood almost awkwardly in front of it._

_"Was there something you needed Fullmetal?" Mustang asked casually._

_"Not really, just thought I would drop by to piss you off." Ed scoffed._

_He smirked at Ed, in an almost playful manner, before he slowly got up from his chair. He walked around the wooden desk and stood inches away from the golden haired teen.__Edward felt his heart rate quicken, as he could almost taste Mustang from standing so near himself. Without realizing it, because Ed was too busy staring into the older man's dark eyes, the colonel had placed his gloved hands around Ed's waist. Edward blushed at the simple touch and he reached out to stroke his face._

_Heart thrashing inside his chest, Ed slowly leaned in for a kiss; pleased when Roy's lips met his. He could feel the man pull him closer as he deepened their kiss. A small moan escaped Edward's mouth as Mustang carried out this motion._

_Roy chuckled, "Oh Ed," he began between quick soft kisses, "I don't think I could-" stealing another kiss, "ever-" he kissed him again, "tire-" Ed kissed back more urgently, "of your-" "reactions-" finally stopping their constant kissing he finished, "when I first begin to kiss you." _

_Roy stroked Ed's blonde bangs from his face when he finished speaking; looking admiringly into his golden eyes._

_"Ed?"_

_Edward stared at Mustang, taking in every word he said, and admiring every detail of his perfectly sculpted face, "yeah Roy?"_

_"I. I love y-"__  
_  
Ed screeched in frustration; halting his reliving of the dream. He couldn't bear to hear those words leave Roy's mouth; even if it was just a fake dream Roy.

He tried to calm himself. His body was hot. He could feel heat throbbing throughout body; and most noticeably between his legs. Trying to deviate his thoughts from where the dream wanted to continue to to wander and explore, he continued walking; trying to avoid it.

The crisp night air aided in Ed's cooling down process, and he began to think more clearly when the images from the dream began to finally become hazy once again. He briskly and silently walked down the boringly familiar path, keeping his eyes and ears open for any unnatural sight or sound. Mustang could be anywhere by now, and he wasn't going to risk being found. He didn't need anyone's help who didn't want to aid him in the first place.

Looking down he sighed, knowing that was a lie. Mustang did want to help him out; Ed just didn't give him the chance. He had yelled at him, and ran off. It really wasn't a smart move on his behalf, but he couldn't take back his decision now, which is why he had to avoid Mustang altogether. He didn't want another lecture on how to act as a dog of the military; he knew what he was supposed to do, but that didn't mean he wanted to do it. He didn't like being told what to do, which was ironic because that is exactly what he was required to do in his military position.

Ed glanced at the stars in the night sky; wondering where Roy was at the moment. And giving himself a disgusted scoff, he swiftly looked back down at his dirt-stained boots.

Thinking back on the dream, Ed realized what had bugged him most about his unwanted dream. It wasn't that his mind was thinking about Mustang when he didn't realize it, and it wasn't the fact that his dream involved himself getting a little more than cozy with the colonel; no, it was the fact that in the dream, Mustang had said "I love you" to Ed. And that scared him. What did this mean? Did Ed unknowingly love Roy? If that was the case, how? Why?

Sure, it was glaringly obvious to himself that he found Mustang disgustingly attractive, but love?

"Give me a freaking break, I don't love Roy Mustang. I don't. I haven't even dated anyone in my life before. I couldn't know what love is even if I wanted to. This is clearly lust. And that's all." Ed mumbled out loud, trying to reassure himself of his iffy conclusion.

Shuffling his feet, the train of thought slowly wandered from his confusing feelings and thoughts of Mustang, to thoughts of his brother.

"Al..." he breathed.

Clenching his fists, his goal was firmly back and clear in his sight.

"I will find you little brother, if it's the last thing I do."


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's Note: Here is chapter 7 guys! I am already working on chapter eight! So be sure to check for that one soon! =) Hope you enjoy it! Thanks again for reading!**_

* * *

Early morning sunlight crept its way through the leafy roof above Roy's head. He opened his eyes groggily; they currently being only black slits. His ebony hair was tousled and messy from constant movement from restless uncomfortable sleep on the hard ground. Glancing over at Riza, he saw that she was still comfortably asleep; he rolled his eyes, annoyed at how comfortable she looked. Roy peered up at the sky, seeing that it was still fairly early, and cursed himself for not being able to sleep just a little bit longer.

He rummaged around the backpack Hawkeye brought with them that carried their supplies. Eventually, he found one of their last loaves of bread, and ripping it in half, he ate it slowly and gingerly; wanting to conserve what little food they had left. While eating his meager bites of bread, Roy continued to grope around the inside of the bag in search of one of the canteens. Finding one, he realized it was empty, and continued to grab blindly for the other that he knew was still in it. He finished the bread and promptly found the second canteen; luckily this one was still half full. He drank only what was necessary for him at the moment; saving the rest for when his subordinate woke from her seemingly peaceful slumber.

Now that Roy had finished his makeshift breakfast, he was fidgety. He was ready to get up and keep moving; but he still had the "issue" of waiting for Hawkeye to wake up. Sighing, he took a deep calming breath; waiting as patiently as he possibly could for her to wake up.

After waiting for what he guessed to be around half an hour, Roy's patience wore thin and he finally prodded at Hawkeye with one gloved finger. When she didn't show even the slightest sign of stirring from sleep, he gently grabbed her shoulder and lightly shook her. Unfortunately, this was the absolute wrong approach for the dark-haired man to do, because, before he knew it, Riza had him pinned to the ground with a gun in his face.

"WOAH WOAH WOAH! Riza! It's me! It's me! Roy!" he repeated frantically.

It took a few moments before she loosened her grip on him and lowered her gun, "sorry sir," she began slowly, as if she was still trying to get a grasp on the situation, "you just startled me. I'm never woken up like that. My instincts just kicked in. I apologize."

Letting out a sigh of relief he relaxed and responded, "It's okay Riza, you just scared the crap out of me. I thought you were gonna really shoot me for a second!" he finished chuckling.

"No sir, I would never shoot you." she smiled back weakly.

"Do you mind getting off of me now?" he smirked.

"Oh! I'm so sorry sir!" she gasped as a light red tinted her usually pale face.

"No worries lieutenant" he said as he sat back up still grinning at her.

"It won't happen again sir."

"Oh I know it won't happen again. You want to know why lieutenant?"

"Why?" she asked tentatively.

"Because I will most definitely not be waking you up that way ever again!" he laughed.

"Very good sir." she answered as she joined in on the laughter.

After a few carefree and joyful moments of laughing in unison, they quieted down as Roy motioned towards the backpack and its contents strewn across the ground, "I left some bread and water for you. But, unfortunately that's the last of our supplies," he grimaced, "so we'll need to keep a good look for any nearby water sources."

"Thank you. I shall hurry up and eat so we can do that, and also continue our search for Edward." she responded, bowing her head slightly before she dug into her small meal.

Edward. They still hadn't found him.

Once being reminded of Edward, Roy's stomach did it's usual churn of worry and angst. They still didn't have much of a lead as to where he was, and this concerned Roy to no end. What if he was hurt? Or lying on the ground starving? (Roy was in fact aware of Ed's enormous eating habits) Endless possibilities of what could have gone wrong spun about his mind, and running his hand through his hair he tried to calm the vicious and unwanted thoughts.

"Sir? Are you okay?"

Getting out of his head, Roy snapped back to reality hearing one of his titles and Hawkeye's familiar voice, "yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired still is all." he provided weakly.

"Maybe next time you should take advantage of the opportunity to gain more rest while I'm still asleep."

"It's hard for me to fall back asleep after I have already woken up."

"Ahh. Well I suppose I can't help you there."

"I suppose not."

A few moments of silence passed as Hawkeye finished her food and drank the rest of the water before she asked Roy one more time, "are you sure you're okay?"

Panic flashed across Roy's face for a split second before he quickly and firmly placed a solid mask back upon his face, "Positive."

She nodded. "Are you ready to go then?"

"Yes, grab the things and let's move."

"Sir."

* * *

Edward stood atop a small hill and examined his surroundings. His face bore a grimace, and his eyebrows were dangerously close to making him wear a scowl instead.

"Damn it." he swore to himself.

The golden-eyed teen had absolutely no idea where he was; and on top of that Ed had found evidence of most likely two people that had slept near here recently. He could only assume that it was Mustang and one of his men, or maybe even Lieutenant Hawkeye. And when Ed had looked at the obviously previously occupied earth, he guessed that they hadn't left it long ago; it was recent. If he was this close to them, then he had to be super cautious now.

"At least I have the upper-hand of knowing where they are..." Ed thought to himself.

Dragging himself out of what seemed like constant thoughts of Roy Mustang, Ed realized he was gaining no useful information by standing on the hill, so he began to head down the side he didn't come up on. While trotting down the slope, Edward noticed a small stream, and he immediately bounded towards it; thankful to finally re-hydrate himself.

Taking his white gloves off and barely stuffing them into his vibrant red pocket, he knelt down and thrust his hands into the cool stream. He began to gulp down the handfuls of refreshing water, and instantly Ed felt a bit more re-energized. When he finally satisfied his much neglected thirst, the blonde plopped down right beside the stream. And releasing a content sigh, he took his relaxation further and decided to lie down. Shutting his golden eyes, Edward sprawled out in the lush grass and soaked up the sun's rays.

A random, subtle, out of the ordinary sound however pierced Ed's ears and interrupted the peaceful calm. He jolted up from where he lay and instinctively a flash of blue light lit Ed's face as he transmuted his automail limb into a deadly blade. His adrenaline pumped rapidly as he strained his vision upwards the forest where the sound first originated.

His body tensed further as he yelled threateningly towards the trees; "I know you're there! Whoever you are, you better come out now! Or I'll come in there and get you myself you bastard!" he snarled.

He waited for a response; but got nothing. Doubtful thoughts flashed through his racing mind that maybe he was wrong, and no one was really there. Maybe he was simply more tired then he had assessed earlier. And just when Ed was about to transmute his arm back to normal, he heard the sound again; body tensing back up, in preparation for a fight, Ed ran towards the trees to see who the hell was making that noise.

Rubber boots pounded the ground as he sprinted towards the forest, Ed wore a ferociously angered face; lips curled back in a snarl, eyebrows were pushed closely together, and eyes ablaze with rage. Seeing the slightest form of movement, he yelled attackingly with the voice of a fierce warrior, and leapt into the air, blade raised high above his head ready to strike its target.

* * *

Alarm and panic flashed through Roy's black eyes upon seeing Ed approaching him and Hawkeye. Edward was always the one to act first and ask questions later, but Roy was surprised he would even consider it to he a good idea to run into a supposed fight blindly. As Edward got closer and closer to his and Hawkeye's position, he began to rapidly rack his brain for the best option to deal with the small oncoming blonde threat. But seeing Ed leap into the air, blade brandished above his head, and hearing him yell in attack mode, Roy knew it was too late and he now only had one option.

Roy jumped out of his shadowy hiding spot, arms stretched out in front of his body in order to signal for Ed to stop his oncoming assault, "Edward! STOP!" he ordered in his best colonel voice.

He watched as a shocked expression crossed the teen's young face as he swiftly lowered his steel weapon and landed clumsily on his mismatched feet. They stared at each other; never losing eye contact. Roy watched Ed continue to pant; trying to regain his normal breathing. He barely even noticed Hawkeye join his side because he was too wrapped up at the sight of Ed; they had finally found him.

Roy examined Ed's still heaving structure, unable to remove his black gaze from the opposite golden one. He appeared to be in good condition, (considering the current circumstances) maybe a bit tired, and underfed, but still good; nothing that completely alarmed Roy.

Deciding he had waited long enough, Roy finally broke the silence, "Edward? Are you okay?"

Roy watched as the fiery blonde appeared to consider whether he should respond to his question or not. However, he waited patiently, after all, he was more than content knowing that he had Ed in his sights again; knowing he was safe.

After a few more silent seconds, Edward finally responded; "yeah. I'm alright you bastard." he answered smugly.

"Good to know you're still your usual joyful self Fullmetal." Roy commented; bordering dangerously close to teasing.

He continued to watch Ed's reactions after he spoke; noticing he seemed a little awkward and stiff; which was quite unusual for the typically overly confident young man. He inched a little closer, seeing that Edward looked rather lost in his thoughts.

Raising one gloved hand, and placing it on Ed's shoulder he said, "Ed, are you sure you're alright? You seem a bit...taken off guard."

Golden eyes pierced black ones as Ed looked up and glared at Roy. "Why the hell didn't you come out of the trees when I first started to yell? You scared the crap out of me! I thought the same people that took Al might have been following me! I could have hurt you two!" he finished angrily.

Roy was a bit taken back; he hadn't thought of it that way. He didn't think Ed would have been actually concerned about people following him; especially ones that were trying to hurt him.

"I'm sorry Edward, I didn't think of it that way. It was a bad decision on my behalf; I sincerely apologize."

"Whatever..." he mumbled.

Clearing the situation, Roy looked to Riza, "we still have half a loaf of bread right?"

"Yes, we do."

"Get it for Fullmetal?"

"Of course." she replied as she pulled the pack off of her back and searched for the bread.

Walking over to the two men, she handed the semi-stale loaf to Roy.

"Ed?" Roy said.

"What now?" he asked annoyed.

"Are you hungry?"

"I might be..." the blonde answered defiantly.

"Well here's some bread, but first, how about transmuting your automail back into a hand instead of a blade?"

He watched Ed roll his eyes at the request, the familiar blue light appeared as he clapped his hands together and transmuted his hand back to normal, before snatching the bread from his gloves hands. He couldn't help but smirk as Ed began to eagerly bite off huge chunks of the bread and scarf it down. Clearly, the teen hadn't been eating enough, or at all. Within seconds, there was no more evidence that the bread had even existed, and he heard Edward let out a completely satisfied sigh.

"Thanks Hawkeye," he began, "I'm sure it was your idea to bring supplies." he told her sweetly as he turned back to Roy and sneered.

She couldn't help but let a little smile spread across her face at Ed's comment, and it was Roy's turn to roll his eyes at Fullmetal's childish ways.

"Well now that your fed, is there any information you found out about Al?" Roy cut straight to the chase.

"Hell if I know! I was hoping you idiots would forget about me and try to find Alphonse instead. But no, here we are, I was wrong. I couldn't find out crap at that stupid town, so I kept moving, trying to find anything to lead me to Al. But obviously I haven't found anything. What about you Mustang? Did you find anything out? Oh wait, you didn't! Want to know why? Cause you freaking decided to follow me instead! By all means! Just forget about my little brother! Who, might I add, is in far worse condition than I am in at the moment!" he finished his rant angrily.

"Look, Ed, I'm sor-"

"Just shut it. It's too late now; you made your decision. Now that you're here you might as well be useful." Ed spat.

"Then where do you suggest we go major?" Roy asked slightly annoyed.

"Well I was trying to find Central, but I have no freaking clue where we are."

"We should be getting close to Central," the dark haired man looked over to Riza for confirmation, she nodded, "yes, so I say we head there now. If we travel fast enough I think we can make it there by dark."

"Fine." Edward answered stubbornly.

"Well then let's go Fullmetal. Unless you had something else you needed to do?"

Roy watched Ed give him another glare before he said, "Bastard," and then he started to walk away.

Looking back at Hawkeye once more, she gave him a sympathetic look, and they too followed Edward on their way towards Central Command.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's note: Okay guys! Here it is! Chapter 8! I hope you enjoy it! It took a little longer to post than I originally planned, but I hope you guys didn't mind too much! Chapter 9 is not yet in progress, as I am currently unsure of what it will be about for sure. **_

_**Enjoy! And as always, thanks for reading!**_

**_Warning: Sexual desires._**

* * *

"Of course I would run into Mustang!" Ed thought; annoyed with his current situation.

Now he for sure wasn't going to remove the obnoxiously handsome man from his thoughts; even if it was only temporary removal at times. A semi-permanent scowl wore itself on Ed's face as he trudged his way along the grassy path, slightly ahead of Roy and his subordinate. The afternoon sun rise high in the sky, and it brought along a fair amount of heat; enough that it caused Ed to remove his bright red coat. He draped it over his automail shoulder, in an attempt to keep it as cool as possible from the sun's vicious rays. Peering into the bright blue sky, and glancing at the scenery, Ed noted that it was a beautiful day; the kind of day where everyone assumed nothing bad could happen, but they were wrong. Ed knew just how deceiving appearances could be, and he took nothing for granted. In the time spent admiring the lively world around him, Edward felt a sharp pang in his chest; he missed Alphonse. Al should be here with him right now; enjoying this day, because these were the type of days that Al loved and lived for. At times, his brother appreciated nature even more than Ed did himself.

Ed chuckled at the memory of Al taking in that stray cat. At the time, he was still in the armor, and he had tried to keep it a secret from Ed. Al had simply placed the cat inside his hollow body, and had hoped Edward wouldn't notice the random "meows" that occasionally echoed from inside him. But of course Ed had noticed, and regrettably had to tell his little brother that they simply couldn't keep it. Alphonse was distraught, but listened to Ed regardless. Remembering the memory, his joy quickly shifted to sadness; tightening his fists, he once again reminded himself of his promise to himself, and in turn to his younger brother: he would find him and bring him home safely for good.

Hearing his own name, Ed quickly was snapped back to reality.

"Did you not hear me Fullmetal?" Mustang's deep voice asked again.

"I already told you, I'm flipping fine Mustang. Look at me. I'm not hurt or anything. I'm good. I don't see why you don't believe me. So why don't you just leave me alone?" the blonde snapped back in response.

"You know that's not what I meant when I asked if you were fine..." the older man said quietly.

Ed didn't respond to the comment, and relished the silence that ensued.

Not long after Roy's comment, he heard the lieutenant pipe up an start a conversation with Roy, "Sir, do you know how many days we've been gone?"

"Four I believe." Ed heard him answer.

"And do you know what that means for you?"

Ed heard the pause, probably considering all the possible things Hawkeye could be referring to; but it didn't take long for the colonel to finally answer her.

"It means more paperwork for me." he chuckled grimly.

Hearing that, the blonde could only imagine the priceless expression that had made its way onto Mustang's normally morbid face. That thought alone interested Ed enough to put his own two cents into the conversation.

Scoffing before he spoke, he said, "Mustang? Actually _doing_ his paperwork? Don't make me laugh lieutenant!" he sneered jokingly at Roy; craning his neck over his shoulder.

Keeping his eyes locked on Mustang, he waited for the comeback words; hoping they were good, because the man actually appeared to be slightly offended by his comment.

"Say it all you want Fullmetal, but unlike _you_, I actually _complete_ all of my paperwork." he smirked triumphantly.

"I fill out what's necessary! Like you guys need to be bothered with every single detail of my assignments! I tell you all the important stuff; you're lucky you even get that!"

"Actually Edward, we _do_ need to be informed; especially if you got injured."

Rolling his eyes, Ed answered, and ignored, the suspiciously caring sentence just said, "It's not even a big deal if I know I can manage my injuries alone. Besides, I hate hospitals. They serve you _milk_." he finished with distaste.

"No one really likes hospitals Edward. Can you promise me something?" he asked him expectantly.

"Promise _you_ something?"

"Promise that if you ever need to, you'll go the hospital. Have Alphonse take you; Havoc, Hughes, Armstrong, Hawkeye; me. Anyone." he requested of Ed almost pleadingly.

"Why do you care about my health all of a sudden Mustang? You getting a little soft flame alchemist?" Ed asked, eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Fullmetal. You know I've always cared. We all care about your health and well-being. Remember that. And if I didn't care, why would Riza and I come all this way trying to find you?" he asked slightly baffled by Ed's disbelief.

Ed went silent. He stared at the ground, knowing that Mustang would be looking at him for some sort of response. But he didn't know how to respond, so he let the question sit in the air like smoke; still noticeable, but ignored.

Thankful for the silence once again, Ed sifted through the flurry of thoughts his mind kept dwelling on; specifically the ones involving Mustang. Now that the colonel was here, the proximity of being this close to him was verging on unbearable. Ed could almost taste his musky scent mixed with a hint if spice. The smell drove Ed's sense wild with desire; and a burning sensation filled the pit of his stomach, telling him what his body craved most.

He fought against the urge to inch closer and simply press his hands against Roy's desirably warm body. He wanted to caress his strong jaw, and lace soft tender kisses across his neck. He wanted to kiss him until they both were breathless with urgent desire. He wanted to hold him close; to press their bodies together tightly as possible. He simply wanted to take Roy to bed. These fantasies continued to consume Ed's entire being as he now walked side by side with the colonel himself. Ed could feel the familiar and uncomfortable heat begin to radiate between his legs as they continued their journey. Face burning, he sped up a little, worried one of them would notice how obviously turned on he was. His body and face were heating up by the second, and Ed's anger only amplified the problem. He hung his head low, and now removed his coat from his shoulder, and tied it around his waist in an attempt to hide the ever noticeable bulge in his pants.

Once again Ed heard the familiar deep and smooth sigh of Mustang's voice; "Okay Fullmetal, seriously, what is up with you? Why don't you just let us in? We're obviously here for you."

"I'm fine," he managed, "I'm _obviously_ just worried about Al Mustang. Or did you already forget that he's missing?" he questioned the older man bitterly.

Hearing a frustrated growl come from behind him, Edward worried that maybe his temper had got the best of him, and maybe he had taken it just a little too far. But then he remembered that Mustang, just like he himself, had the capability of behind a hot head too. Regardless, Ed anticipated the now inevitable lecture about respect and such that he was about to receive.

"Ed, we know you're upset, how could you not be? I promise you we'll find Alphonse. But at the moment, I'm referring to your hunched and distant posture. Are you feeling okay?" he asked Ed with genuine concern in his voice.

Getting tired of putting on an angry front, Ed gave up, slumped his shoulders in defeat, and finally gave in to Mustang's constant questioning; "Fine Mustang. You win. You wanna know how I'm doing? Not good. I'm starving. I'm tired. I'm beyond worried about Al. I'm confused. I'm frustrated. I'm lost. Too many things are going on inside my head right now, and I don't know how to deal with it all at once. Is that what you wanna hear? Are you happy now colonel?" Ed finished somberly.

He waited for Mustang to gloat, to tell him that it wasn't so bad to tell others about how you really felt inside; but it didn't come. Instead, he was stopped by a hand on his left shoulder. Ed turned around to see Hawkeye's brown eyes looking directly into his own. She kept his gaze for a moment, before pulling him towards herself and giving him a quick tight hug.

"What was that for lieutenant? That isn't like you to do something like that..."

"You needed it."

"Thank you..."

She nodded, taking a quick step back, and looked from Ed to Roy. Ed glanced at Roy, trying to figure out what their silent communication could mean. Before he could decipher the meaning, Mustang had placed one strong gloved hand upon Ed's exposed flesh shoulder.

"It's all going to be all right Edward. Well find your brother, and everything will go back to normal. I swear it to you."

"T-thanks..." he replied, eyes downcast to his boots.

It was Roy's turn to nod in response to the blonde's thanks as he removed his hand from Ed's shoulder. Ed bit back the urge to reach out and pull Mustang's hand back; he knew during a moment like that between the three of them, that craving the dark-haired man should be the last thing on his mind, but that touch nearly sent Ed over the edge. His body was already begging Ed to satisfy its desires, and with Mustang so close, and placing his hands on him, it was hard for Ed to keep his mind out of the gutter.

Managing to glance back up at the pair, Ed asked, "so are we gonna keep moving or not? We're wasting daylight. And the sooner we get to Central, the better."

"You're right, let's keep moving. And we should pick up the pace a bit. You both can do that right?" Mustang inquired.

"Of course sir." Hawkeye replied to her commanding officer.

"I'm no kid Mustang, I can keep up with an old man like you!" Ed joked.

"Old huh?" he smirked.

"Yup!" Ed chuckled as he turned around, stretched his arms before placing them comfortably behind his head, and continued to walk down the path in front of them.

* * *

Roy looked longingly at Ed's smaller frame. He wanted to reach out and console the younger man, to show him how much he truly meant the words he had said. Saying them wasn't enough; it just wasn't in Roy's mind, even if Edward had believed him.

On top of wanting to comfort the blonde, Roy couldn't stop thinking of Ed in more intimate scenarios. He felt disgusting for even thinking of Edward like that at a time like this, but his body and mind didn't seem to care about his own protesting.

Thoughts of Ed close, warm, and in his arms, flooded Roy's body with hot fiery passion. Warmth between his legs told him this, and try as he might, the dark-haired man couldn't keep his thoughts under control. Knowing that the fight was now useless, he let his thoughts have a little slack, letting them wander just a little further than he initially intentioned.

He pictured looking into Ed's bright golden gaze, and leaning in to kiss his temptingly parted mouth. He wanted to then tell Ed how beautiful he was and kiss him everywhere. Place soft kisses on his neck, face, chest, lips. Anywhere. Everywhere. He wanted to feel the blonde's warm skin beneath his un-gloved fingertips, and feel his weight on top of his own. Roy wanted to know what Ed tasted like; he wanted to know if he could even handle the seemingly untamable being that he knew Ed was.

Cheeks flushing red, Mustang halted his ongoing thought process, scolding himself for letting them get that far. With the man of his interests right a few feet in front of himself, Roy knew it better to stop himself now before his body took control and he ended up simply kissing Ed right here and now. He couldn't let that happen at any moment in time though; considering the younger man probably disliked him anyway, and besides the fact that Hawkeye was also here. He shuddered, knowing that she had probably noticed his odd behavior towards Ed already. And thinking of that, he hoped that Ed hadn't noticed either.

Grimacing, he tried to compose himself for the audience of two that he wasn't sure was even paying attention to him. Regardless, Roy blocked images of a breathless beautiful Ed sprawled across his bed, and continued to walk; looking down at his dusty boots as he went.

The sun still shone brightly in the mid-afternoon sky, and Roy wiped sweat from his brow. The military uniform wasn't exactly the coolest outfit to wear on warm days like this, and he wished that he had brought a cooler outfit. But doing the best with what he was given, Roy removed the heavy jacket and folded it in half; draping it over his left arm. A small breeze blew in the trio's direction, and Roy was thankful for it.

"Lieutenant?" Roy began.

"Sir?"

"So you think we should arrive in Central by nightfall?"

"I believe so. After all, that town has to lead to the city. Am I wrong to assume that?"

"No, I don't think you are. Thank you."

"Of course."

Turning his head and looking back to Ed, who was still ahead of them, he smiled. Happy that they would finally be arriving to Central decently soon, and hoping that Hughes had uncovered more information about the case of Edward's missing brother.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Note: Sorry this one took longer than the last couple chapters guys! I hope it was worth the wait! And I apologize for any errors in the story, I only very quickly glanced through it to get it up as soon as I could. So if you find anything, don't be shy and please let me know so I can correct it. Thank you! Enjoy!**_

_**Update: A person was kind enough to point out some very obvious errors of mine already, and I fixed them; but if you catch anymore, I will appreciate you letting me know!**_

* * *

Winry sat solitary by the window; her eyes glazed with worry as she stared blankly at the outside world. Her yellow hair was pulled up into a sloppy ponytail, and her clothes were rumpled from multiple uses with no wash. Her face was expressionless, and the dark circles beneath her eyes highlighted her lack of sleep. She had been this way for nearly five days; ever since Al was taken from her home.

"Winry, you should really consider cleaning up a bit. The boys wouldn't want to see you like this when they get back." Granny suggested gently.

"It's been almost five days..." Winry stated emotionlessly.

"You know how those boys like to walk everywhere; I'm sure they're already on their way home. And you know what? I bet they're expecting me to have a nice warm dinner prepared for them when they arrive!" she encouraged.

"What if Ed never even caught up with whoever took Al? He won't even know where to look..."

"I'm sure Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye caught up to Ed and are helping him in any way they can. And on top of that, Hughes and everyone else are back at Central searching for Al as well. So don't worry Winry, we'll see them again soon."

"And I am here to finish fixing your house and protect you Miss Winry!" Armstrong's voice boomed.

Winry turned her head towards the major and gave a weak smile before looking out at the darkening sky, "I miss them Granny."

"I know you do dear. But they'll find their way back, they always do."

She went silent for a moment; unsure if she should voice her concerns to Granny or not. "Granny, what if it's different this time?"

"It won't be. They'll be here safe before you know it. I promise." Pinako assured her granddaughter as she gave her a comforting hug.

Winry felt the warmth of Granny leave her; and out of the corner of her eye, she saw her head towards the kitchen and begin to slowly rummage around; searching for something to cook. She also heard the major ask if Granny needed assistance; but of course she assured him she was perfectly capable of cooking a meal; and it was the least she could do in thanks to him for fixing up their house. At the thought of food, her stomach grumbled; but she didn't feel hungry, so she ignored what her body told her she needed and succumbed to what her mind and emotions told her she didn't need.

Still looking out the window, Winry wondered where Ed and Al could possibly be.

* * *

Darkness had finally fallen upon the city as Roy and his subordinates approached it. The stars began to glimmer more dimly as the city lights reached their full capacity; and Roy noticed that it was a rather quiet night for a Friday in Central, and that wasn't the norm. While trying to figure out what the possible reason could be for such an abnormally quiet Friday night, the familiar voice if Edward interrupted his thinking process.

"Does it seem...quiet to you Mustang?" he asked suspiciously.

First glancing at Riza to see if she thought the same as them, and she did, he looked back to Ed; "Yes. It's eerily quiet...I don't like it."

"Sir, do we still head to Central Command?"

"Well it's our best bet at finding out what's going on right?" he answered Hawkeye.

"Right."

Turning his head back to his left side, and then slightly downwards, he asked the blonde teen, "Is that alright with you Fullmetal?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "It makes the most sense."

"Good. Then we'll head to the command center, and if it doesn't look safe there, we'll figure out somewhere else to go."

Ed grunted in agreement, and Hawkeye nodded here. With that, the group made their way inconspicuously into the city towards Central Command. Roy kept an ear out for any of the typical city bustle of the evening, but heard nothing except for the occasional rustle of litter blowing in the wind. On his exterior, Roy kept alert, ready to be aware of any possible danger that could seem to happen at any moment; but on the inside, Roy was relieved to be doing something right by Edward. Ed had seemed satisfied with the current plan, and that pleased Roy. The last time he had suggested a plan to Edward, he had run away from him in an angry dash. The dark-haired man wasn't going to let that happen again; not if he could help it. Roy would not be the cause of pain or unhappiness in the teen's life ever again.

Central Command was in view not long after arriving to the city, and the group came to a halt. Roy examined the building with wary dark eyes; but it looked like it usually did, quiet with two guards posted at the entrance.

"It looks safe enough." Ed said quietly.

"Yeah," he paused giving one last sweep with his eyes of the area, "let's go."

Roy and his pair of subordinates approached the entrance and the sentries posted in front of it. He could see the initial tension in the guards' bodies as their group first headed towards them; but the tension quickly vanished from their faces once they recognized who Roy was. The guards saluted the trio, and they moved aside to let them through. Walking up the familiar path, Roy instantly felt more at ease than he had in days. This made him chuckle inwardly to himself because he thought it was ironic that he felt comfortable at work of all places. Regardless, he was grateful for the familiar surroundings; and by the looks of it, Edward and Hawkeye seemed more relaxed as well.

Deciding it was best to head to his office first, that's where Roy, Ed, and Riza went first. Upon reaching the room, they were greeted by happy, familiar, faces. Havoc, Fuery, Breda, and Falman were all present, and when Roy and his pair entered the room, they all wore priceless expressions of being caught off guard. The sight made Roy even smile. He knew that, he, and the other two needed this. Needed to see their group of friends and comrades after being gone for what seemed like a months.

"How are you all doing?" Roy smirked.

There was a short pause before a burst of voices erupted from the other four men in the room.

"That good huh?" he answered the jumble of voices, laughing.

Once the colonel spoke again, they all quieted down, looked at one another, and answered, "yes sir!"

"It's good to see you all alive and well," Havoc replied, "and I think I speak for all of us when I say that." he half smirked; cigarette in mouth.

"It's good to see you all too. Surprisingly enough, I actually kinda missed you all!" he joked.

Looking around the room once more, he realized that Hughes wasn't present, "where's Hughes?"

And just when Havoc was about to answer Roy's inquiry, he heard yet another familiar voice: "Roy! You finally made it back! That took you long enough! And Edward! Nice to see you're in good shape!" When Maes said that, Roy noticed him glance in his direction, as if looking for a reaction to Edward's well-being. But it didn't last more than a split second before he started to blabber on again, "And Riza, as always, a pleasure to see you!" he finished smiling.

Roy smiled at his friend's always loud entrance, "Nice to see you too Hughes."

"You three must be starving!" Maes stated.

"A bit." the dark haired man admitted.

"Fuery! Can you please go get some good and drink for your superiors?"

"Of course, I'll be right back." Fuery told them all as he left the room.

With all the greetings out of the way, Roy's warm and inviting expression morphed into one of weariness, knowing he would now have to see what was going on here in the city, and if Hughes had uncovered any news on Alphonse.

"Hughes, I have two questions for you."

"Okay, what's the first one?"

"First, what is going on here? Why is there absolutely no one out and about in the city? It's the weekend for goodness sake!"

"Oh yes, that. Well while you three were essentially AWOL for nearly a week, we had a few incidents of our own."

When Hughes paused, Roy looked at him expectantly for more details.

"You can ease up a bit Roy, it's nothing us military dogs can't handle." he paused again, and then finally began to explain the necessary details, "three nights ago, a group of men came into the city guns ablaze. They were hard to catch because they were in a vehicle when they decided to go on their shooting spree. Luckily, no one was killed, just a few injuries. So that's why the streets are empty. We've ordered everyone to stay inside for their own safety until we catch the maniacs." he finished.

"Are these attacks related to Alphonse's kidnappers?" Ed asked Hughes quietly.

"Not that we've discovered. I'm sorry Ed, we haven't been able to dig anything up on the people who took your brother." he answered the teen regretfully.

"It's okay Hughes..."

Roy looked sorrowfully at Ed as the blonde's facial expression went from hopeful to disappointment with a mix of all too familiar worry. Once again he felt the familiar urge to comfort the teen, but he knew he couldn't; not here, not now, and probably not ever. He clenched his gloved fists in frustration; he felt so helpless right now, and he, Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, never, ever, felt helpless like he did right now. Being inside his head for a few moments, Roy unknowingly lost control of his mask for a second, and he knew that he had done so immediately after the fact because Hughes was giving him that look again.

He bit back the urge to question Hughes about it right here and now, and instead averted his eyes to anywhere else in the room that didn't contain Maes, or Edward for that matter. As he continued to avoid eye contact with just about everyone in the room, his friend spoke again.

"I take it that was similar to your second question Roy?" Maes spoke again, glancing at Ed, then looked to Roy.

"Oh. Yes. It was." he answered monotone.

Hughes nodded and then turned at the sound of the door. Roy looked to where Hughes was looking and saw Fuery walk back in with a giant tray of food.

"Who's ready for dinner?" he asked smirking.

* * *

Ed looked at the tray carrying the variety of food; knowing all too well at how hungry he was. But for one if the first times in his life, the thought of having to eat right now made him sick to his stomach. The renewed feelings if doubt and worry about his little brother crept back up inside of him and made him stiffen his body and not want to eat; he just couldn't do it at the moment.

"Fullmetal, aren't you going to get something to eat? I would think you would have been the first one at that tray." Roy teased gently.

"I'll eat in a bit." was his only response.

Ed ignored the flash of concern in Mustang's eyes; any other time it would have ignited a spark of hope inside him, but not right now. He didn't want to think of the dark haired man. The colonel shouldn't be a top priority at the moment; Al was.

After mulling through his thoughts for a bit, he decided it best to eat; regardless if he actually felt like it or not. He filled up a plate, and took it with him to the farthest chair in the room; wanting nothing but to be alone. He wanted to leave again; to go and find Al. But he knew he couldn't, none of his comrades would let him; not without joining him at least.

Continuing to mope in the corner, Ed sat in silence and forced down the food he didn't want to eat.

* * *

Roy continued to glance at Edward with pain in his eyes. He couldn't bear to see the young man act this way. It was so far from the bright-eyed fiery teen he was so accustomed to. Sighing, he forced down his last bites of his much needed meal, and began to stand up. Just as he did, Hughes intercepted him and beckoned for him to follow.  
Roy grunted his understanding and placed his empt plate on the table beside him before following his friend.

The pair didn't travel far as Hughes stopped only halfway down the hall from Roy's office.

"What's this about Maes?"

"How are you doing?" his friend asked in an almost completely serious tone.

"I'm good."

"Are you really Roy?"

"Why wouldn't I be Hughes?" Roy asked slightly irritated.

"You know why."

Roy held his friend's gaze; not wanting to give in and surrender. But he knew if he continued to hold his ground, his eyes would betray him and Hughes would get what he was looking for.

"Roy. I see the way you look at him. Don't tell me you don't care for him as more than a friend or a comrade."

Knowing if he spoke, his voice would confirm Hughes's suspicions. But if he continued to look him in the eyes, his own would give him away as well. So Roy did what he couldn't manage at the moment, and looked down at his feet. His dark bangs his face, and Roy could still feel Maes's gaze burning at him.

"You don't have to admit it if you don't want to, or even can't right now. Just please don't lie to me. But I know you won't, and aren't, so thank you for at least doing your best right now."

Roy nodded hearing the words, and Hughes continued to talk.

"We'll find Alphonse, don't worry Roy. You'll see Ed's smile again. I can see how much it pains you to see him in this state." he paused, "can you promise me something?"

"What?" he asked weakly.

"Promise you'll be safe and make rational decisions, even if the situation involves Edward."

"I promise Hughes. Now may I go back? Or do you have anything else to add?"

"Just one question."

"Go on."

"So you don't have any information on Al's kidnappers either?"

"No. No sign of them anywhere. We do believe however that they took the main road here to Central, not the countryside one we took. But that's all we have discovered." Roy responded.

"Well, it's a start I suppose. Tell you what? You three rest up tonight, and we'll start investigating again tomorrow?" Hughes suggested a little more lightly.

"Sounds good Hughes, please let Fullmetal and the lieutenant know too, I'm off to home." Roy requested and informed him.

"Will do. Get some good rest Roy, see you here tomorrow morning."

Roy nodded, and promptly turned around and headed down the corridor, passing his office. He was out the front doors before he knew it, and walking down the street into the frigid night air on his way home.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author's Note: Here it is guys! Chapter 10! I hope you all enjoy it! It is a little longer than the majority of my chapters, so I hope everyone enjoys that as well.**_

_**I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I'm sorry I didn't get it out sooner. And as always, I appreciate you guys pointing out any errors there are in this, even though I did skim through this one this time, I probably missed something.**_

_**Thanks for reading! =)**_

* * *

Roy shoved his hands into his pockets in an attempt to keep them warm from the frigid night air that surrounded him. Wanting nothing more than to get home and warm himself up, he quickened his pace from an almost casual stroll to a brisk walk. It didn't take Roy long to walk the last few blocks and ascend the steps to his doorway; unlocking the door, he entered his sanctuary and shut the freezing air out. Releasing an exhausted sigh, he removed his military jacket, ran his hand through his black hair; ruffling it up a bit, and walked into his living room. Throwing the blue jacket into his chair, he crouched down by the fireplace, snapped his gloved fingers, and ignited a soothing fire. Roy grunted; approving his own work, and sat down on the nearby couch.

Now having time to finally just sit and think, Roy realized that he hadn't thought a single intelligent thing since he had left Central Command. That made him smile; a nice walk alone had finally done him good for once and had actually cleared his typically busy mind. But now that he had realized his own good fortune, he couldn't stop all of his previously forgotten worries from flooding his mind once again.

Images of a despairing Ed sitting solitary in Roy's own office flashed before his eyes. An aching sorrow immediately hit Roy squarely in the chest following the all too recent memories of seeing Ed look so defeated.

Trying to calm himself, he tried to stop seeing the blonde's sad face; and failed. He ran his fingers trough his hair angrily, "Why do I care so much?" he growled to himself.

He knew he wasn't going to get an answer from the anyone but himself, and the answer would only be obtainable in time. This frustrated the dark haired man to no end, because Roy didn't like questions that could only be answered when you waited. That was not how he operated; he always had to work for answers, and that was just how he liked it. Now this, this, was a thing that was out of his control. It involved feelings, and that scared Roy. Feelings were unpredictable; you couldn't know when they would strike, and make you vulnerable. The uncertainty of the whole situation discomforted the man, and made him fidget in his seat; frustrated.

He had to find Alphonse. For Ed's sake; and in turn, his own. He knew that these longing feelings would subside if he could just see Edward smile again. To see him curse and lose his temper. That's all Roy wanted, to see him back to normal.

To see him happy.

Happy? Roy was dumbfounded by these new desires that surfaced in his mind. He wanted to see Edward happy? Since when did he start to care so deeply for the blonde? Roy couldn't put his finger on it. It seemed to have just simply snuck up on him gradually over time without him noticing. It was as if it was a natural progression in his life that he just laid down and accepted unknowingly. This displeased him; he didn't want to feel this way towards Ed. He couldn't, even if he wanted to. Edward was his subordinate. And still at a mere age of 18; that was 12 years younger than Roy himself. He shook his head at how wrong everything about the situation was. Edward was too young, he was under his command, and on top of all of that, they were both male. Gays in Amestris were not always looked upon with acceptance, in fact, most of the time it was frowned upon. Roy hated that fact, but it was how society was right now, he couldn't change that. But Roy was assuming too much now; Ed was probably as straight as an arrow, not giving him a single thought. While Roy was home pining and filling his mind with depressing thoughts on how things between them couldn't possibly work.

Looking at the clock he groaned; he didn't have time for this. It was already nearly midnight, where had the time gone? Glancing at the fire, he realized he must have been deep in thought much longer than he had originally assumed because the amber flames were now dim embers. He shook his head, annoyed with himself at how he squandered his precious time. He now didn't have time to shower and wash away the five days of dirt and grime on his skin like he had originally planned. Roy sighed, disappointed that he would have to sleep in his own filth another night. But he need sleep first and foremost, so he ignored his craving for a cleansing shower and headed upstairs.

Roy dragged his feet wearily as he climbed the wooden steps; he was more exhausted than he had originally thought. When he finally made it to the top, he went straight to his bedroom. Stripping himself of the rest of his heavy uniform he was so accustomed to wearing, he felt as if a dead weight had been lifted from his body. Finishing the removal of his clothes, and being left only in his boxers, Roy slunk into his bed. He let out a sigh of relaxation, and drifted off into a much-needed sleep.

* * *

Ed stared at his now empty plate; what was wrong with him? He didn't understand why he was so...essentially, depressed. His spirits weren't even this low when he had lost Al's body the first time. At least then, despite being crushed by his failure to his mom and brother, he was still able to bring back Al's soul from the gate. He was able to do something for Al in the meantime while they searched for a way to get back his brother's actual body. But now? Now he couldn't even do that. Al was missing, body and soul. It was just too much to comprehend; not being ably to "bring him back" this time. This time, Ed didn't even know where his brother was, and he didn't know where to start looking. He was lost without Alphonse; lost and helpless.

While still dwelling on his ever-growing depression, Ed was shaken from its grip suddenly when he heard the familiar voice of Hughes.

"Huh?" Ed grunted.

"I asked if you wanted to stay with us tonight instead of going home alone." Hughes repeated.

"No, that's okay Hughes. I'll be fine."

He gave a sly smile before speaking again, "Ed, I know I asked you that as a question, but I really meant it more as, well, an order."

Ed rolled his eyes, followed by a shrug the shoulders, "Fine. Can we go now then?"

"Sure thing. Just let me grab my things real quick, then we can leave."

Edward watched as Hughes walked away and grabbed various things from his desk; mostly folders and then his jacket.

"Ready?" he asked Ed.

He nodded, got up, and followed Hughes out to his vehicle. They both quickly got in to avoid the cold weather as much as humanly possible, and Hughes then promptly started up the car after both men were situated in their seats.

The drive to the Hughes's home was a quiet one. No words were exchanged; only the gentle hum of the engine could be heard.

Ed was surprised that Hughes hadn't said anything, the man typically rambled on for hours; especially when it came to his family. But as they pulled up to the older man's home, Maes shut off the car and didn't budge. Edward knew what was coming now, the talk that hadn't happened yet; the talk that he was surprised Hughes hadn't already begun.

"Can you please just get the pity party out of the way so we can go inside and be warm? I came with you willingly because I knew you wouldn't let me go home alone. So I would prefer you get whatever lecture or advice you have over with sooner rather than later." Ed said flatly; an annoyed expression sitting on his face.

"All I wanted to say that it's okay to feel sad, lost, helpless. You can't always be strong Ed, it's just not possible. Everyone has their moments of weakness, and we know that your brother is yours. And that is definitely not a bad thing, after all, my family is my weakness too." Hughes explained to Ed calmly and empathetically.

"I'm fine. I'm just worried about Al. That's it. We'll find him soon and things will go back to normal."

"Yes, I promise Ed, we'll find your brother. He's strong, just like you. He'll be fine. And that said, we all care about you. We don't like to see you so defeated. And that's not to say that you don't have every right to be upset about this, because you do. I'm simply saying that you won't accomplish anything if you're going to continue to wallow in pity about yourself and what you can't do at the moment. We all know you; we know that you would have had Al back by now if you had known where to look. But the fact is, none of us know where he is, so none of us can do anything to help your brother this instant." he paused, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, and continued, "Besides, Al knows you too, and he won't doubt for a second that we're looking for him, going to find him, and rescue him. So Ed, chin up, everything will be okay. I understand your grief, I do, but do you really think Al would want to see you like this? No, he would want to see you strong and determined to find him. He would want to see that fire in those golden eyes of yours; he wouldn't want to see the dull shade of gold they are right now."

Taking a moment to process all that Hughes said, Ed sat in the car, eyebrows almost forming a scowl, as he considered how to respond.

Slowly, Ed looked up, and over to Hughes, "Thanks Hughes. I needed that." he smiled weakly.

"No need to thank me Ed, I'm just giving you the little push you need to get yourself back in gear."

"Well, still. Thanks." Ed paused; now sitting next to Hughes awkwardly, not knowing what to say, "guess we can go in now?"

"Yes we can."

Nodding, the teen began to open the door and get out before he was interrupted by Maes, "Oh, Edward, one more thing before we go in."

"What now Lieutenant Colonel?"

"Be sure to show some of your recovered confidence to Roy."

Ed froze, why would Maes bring Roy up?

"Why would I do anything for the bastard?" Ed scoffed.

"I told you, we all care. Besides, I figured you wouldn't want to look weak in front of him. After all, you two are well-known for your heated arguments." he grinned goofily.

"I don't give a crap about what Mustang thinks of me! I know I'm not weak, and you know what? I'm sure he damn well knows it too! You all know it! So I don't have to prove anything to him!"

"Woah now Edward, calm down." Hughes chuckled, "it's alright, I'm just messing with you."

"Damn you Hughes. Are you trying to piss me off?"

"No, just letting you know that you should show Roy that you're doing better now." he smiled devilishly, "you do want to impress him don't you?"

Ed stuttered, blushing slightly, "Mustang? The colonel? Impress him? Why the hell would I want to do that for?"

"I think we both know why, and judging by your reaction, my assumptions have been correct." he smiled again.

"I don't know what you're talking about! You're crazy Hughes!" Ed spat defensively.

"It's okay Ed, you don't have to get upset. I'm just observant, and I've noticed the glances and looks you give him on occasion. There's nothing wrong with that. No worries, you're secret is safe with me" he assured the blonde, winking in his direction.

"Screw you. I don't have a secret to keep Hughes! I don't like that bastard, so there is no so-called secret to be kept!" he spoke angrily.

"Oh Ed! I'm sorry I even brought it up. I was just giving you some friendly advice, being that I'm the man's best friend and all." he smirked.

"Whatever Hughes, I'm freezing now, I'm heading in." he informed him; more calm now.

"Sounds good Ed." he smiled.

* * *

Roy woke up suddenly; shaken from his sleep from a disturbing dream. His breathing was a little faster than normal, so he tried calming himself by taking slow deep breaths. A light sweat covered his brow, and he shuddered thinking back on the horrifying dream. Wanting to forget that the dream had ever even existed, he got out if bed and made his way to the bathroom. After relieving himself and washing his hands, he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked awful. His face was strained; and dark heavy circles had imprinted themselves beneath his darker eyes. Examining himself further, he realized how tense his body was, how filthy his hair looked, and how greasy his skin was from the days with no wash. He continued to stare at his reflection with disgust and quickly decided it was time he showered. Taking the few steps to where the shower was, he reached into it and turned the nozzle; allowing the water to stream out of the head. Waiting a few moments for it to warm up, he removed his boxers, and then stepped into the shower.

The sound Roy made upon getting into the shower was one of pleasant relief. The water cascaded soothingly down his tension-filled back; easing the tight muscles. His hand fumbled blindly for the soap as he kept his eyes shut standing directly beneath the water that poured down on him. Once he found it, he washed his body thoroughly; followed by a relaxing massage of shampoo through his black hair. He continued to stand underneath the hot water aimlessly; and just as he decided it was time for him to get out and get ready for the rest of the day, flashes of his dream hit him.

_The tragic sound of Ed's screaming voice pierced Roy's ears like a needle. He cringed at the noise; not ever wanting to hear a sound like that ever coming from Ed._

_"Alphonse! Nooo! Al! Alphonse! Wake up little brother! You can't be dead! You're not dead!" Ed sobbed into his brother's lifeless body._

_Roy could barely bear to look upon the sight; it was too much to handle, seeing Ed so broken and distraught. A tear slowly rolled down his pale face; followed by a constant stream of them. There was no point in hiding it, he was just as distraught as the young man was before him. He finally slowly walked over to Ed's heaving body and laid his hand on his shoulder._

_"Ed..." he choked back more tears, "there are no words for how sorry I am..."_

_"I couldn't save him. He's my brother. Why couldn't I save him?!" he cried out to the world around him._

_"I'm here Ed, it's okay...it's gonna be okay..." Roy tried to calm him._

_"It won't ever be okay! I can't bring him back. He's gone forever. I failed him. I failed him Roy..." Ed sobbed more, clenching his fingers into the shirt of his brother's limp body._

_Roy didn't even know what to say or do. He could only watch as Ed's world crumbled around him. So he did the only thing he could do for the blonde; he wrapped his arms around him, and kept telling him it would be okay; not knowing if his words would eventually ring true or not. Slowly Edward loosened his grip on Alphonse's body, and leaned into Roy. The older man brought him closer and cradled him; comforted him as Ed clutched at his blue-clad jacket. And with the blonde in his embrace for the first time, Roy cried quietly along with him; mourning the loss of Ed's beloved brother._

Roy clutched his chest; horrified by the vivid images of the dream. He hated that dream. Why the hell would his mind even conjure a dream like that? Was he that worried about this situation? Did he really care that deeply for the teen? His eyebrows formed a deep scowl as he rubbed his forehead, trying to figure out the meaning of everything that had been happening to him lately. He was so confused; he didn't even know where to begin sorting out all of his emotions.

He shuddered; trying to permanently forget the images in his brain, but knowing they would probably stay with him for life.

Roy glanced over at the fogged mirror, swiping away the steam, and saw how pained he looked. He didn't like it; he didn't like looking or even being weak. That wasn't him. He was the Flame Alchemist, there was nothing feeble sounding about that title, and he was going to make sure he it stayed that way. He erased the horrified expression from his face, and replaced it with one of his familiar masks; hiding the truth from everyone as he left the bathroom and continued to finish getting ready to head back to Central Command.

* * *

Roy walked into Central Command, ready for the day, and ready to crack down hard to find out more information on Al and his kidnappers. He walked down the hallway towards his office with confidence, having a good feeling about today; feeling that they were going to get a break in the case.

Turning the handle on the door, he walked into his office, surprised to see that everyone in his command was already present. He was about to say hi when he stopped himself. Looking around the room, the atmosphere was grim and filled with tension. He saw that Hughes was on the phone, and everyone seemed to be waiting for him to finish on it. And Roy didn't have to wait long for Maes to hang up the receiver.

"What is this all about?" Roy asked cautiously.

"That was one of Al's kidnappers." Maes said quietly.

"What?! What did they say? Did they want a ransom or something? We'll pay it!" Roy asked in disbelief.

His friend gave him a morbid expression before responding, "They don't want a ransom Roy, they want Ed."

* * *

**_Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope the cliff-hanger leaves you wanting more! I will try as hard as I can to get the next chapter out as soon as possible! Thanks again for reading! I truly appreciate it!_**


	11. Chapter 11

**_Author's note: Here it is guys! I made sure to get this done as soon as I could because I got such wonderful reviews for the last chapter! i hope you all enjoy!_**

* * *

"What do you mean they want Ed?" Roy blurted out, disbelieved by what Maes had just told him.

"It's exactly what I said Roy, they want Ed in exchange for Al. Simple as that." Hughes repeated quietly.

"Simple as that? Simple as _that_? There's nothing simple about this Hughes! We aren't just handing Ed over, we'll get Al some other way because now-"

"I'll do it." Ed said at barely a whisper.

Roy stopped his frantic conversation with Hughes and turned to Ed, almost not hearing the blonde even speak.

"What did you just say Fullmetal?" Roy asked him; dangerously close to a threat.

"I said I'd do it. They can have me, just as long as Al will be safe." he answered with more confidence and volume.

Roy stood agape; shocked, "you'll do no such thing Fullmetal! I order you-"

Hughes cut Roy off by placing a firm hand on the man's shoulder, then looked directly at Edward and spoke, "Ed, think about what you're saying yes to. Did you forget our conversation from last night? You basically told me you weren't going to give up, and you were going to fight to get your brother back. Not just roll over and give up."

Roy watched both men intensely, waiting for what Ed would say next.

"I'm not giving up Hughes, I'm simply getting my brother back. And we were just given a great opportunity to retrieve him easily, so you guys are going to let me take it." he warned; golden eyes blazing, tempting them to challenge him and see what would happen if they dared too.

The room went silent; as if Ed's word was law, and no one was allowed to oppose him. But Roy wasn't going to lie down and accept the young alchemist's decision that willingly.

"Edward, you don't even know what they're planning to do with you! They could want anything! And with you being such a willing and cooperative captive, what's stopping them from doing whatever they want to you?" he stopped for a moment, hoping those words would sink in, and then continued, "Ed, they could _kill_you." he finished weakly, hoping that if the words he had said moments before hadn't made an impact, that those five words would. He stared at Ed, directly in his golden eyes, waiting for his response.

"You can't stop me Mustang...this is my decision to make. And I choose to save my brother with causing the least amount of trouble for everyone." Edward told them all, as he began to walk towards the door, "Hughes, what where was the meeting place?" he asked the lieutenant-colonel as he stopped in front of the door.

"271st street..." Hughes answered quietly; reluctantly.

As Ed placed his automail hand on the door handle, Roy made one last attempt to make him stay:

"Ed, stop. Don't do this." he begged in a pleading whisper.

"I have to do this colonel." he responded firmly.

Roy gritted his teeth in frustration, frantically trying to think of an idea to stop Ed from making this mistake; so he did the only thing he could, "Fine. Then I'm going with you." he informed the blonde, gaining back his colonel-voice.

Before Ed could even respond to the older-man's words, Hughes intervened, "Roy! You can't go! You'll only get yourself killed! They specifically said Ed was to come alone."

"Do I look like I care Hughes?" Roy snapped back, "besides, it's a chance I'm willing to take if it's to help Fullmetal get his brother back."

The room went grimly quiet once more, and Roy walked over to the door and joined Edward, "We'll be back..." he informed his comrades as he and the Fullmetal Alchemist departed the room.

The walk to the car was a silent one; and not as much as a single glance was exchanged between the two men; even after they got into the vehicle.

Roy turned the key and started the engine, leaving Central Command well-under the speed limit. The streets were still fairly empty, save for the few brave souls who ventured the streets in broad daylight, in spite of current events. Roy grimaced, knowing they needed to solve this issue soon as well; they couldn't keep the city under lockdown forever. The thought of the people with guns rampaging the streets at any time they pleased made Roy question if they were, in fact, connected to Al's kidnapping. The possibility of these two acts of crime being linked made rage boil inside of his body. Not only did these criminals want to hurt the people he cared most about, but they wanted to hurt innocent civilians too. It made him sick with anger.

Realizing that shouldn't be his main concern at the present moment, he turned his full attention back to the empty road, noticing that they were now only a few blocks away from their destination. And in that split second, he made the decision to stop. He slowed the car down even more, and pulled up to the curb and parked.

The silence continued for a few more moments, until Ed finally spoke; "Why'd you stop? We're almost there."

The monotone and careless way Ed said those words made Roy's skin crawl. This wasn't the Edward Elric he knew. This wasn't the young boy who first joined the military and wouldn't let any supposed, "impossible" obstacle get in his way. No, this now was a young man, ravaged with desperation.

Roy let out a frustrated sigh before responding to the younger alchemist's question: "I stopped, _Fullmetal_, because I'm going to try one last time to talk some sense into you."

Ed rolled his eyes, "There's no use you stubborn bastard! If this is the only way to make sure my brother comes home safe, then so be it. I'm not just gonna sit around knowing that I could easily go and get him without a fight." he finished, glaring in Roy's direction.

"How do you know this is the only way to get Al back safe?! You don't Edward! Just reconsider what you're doing, you're going to regret it if these people kill you...you'll leave you're brother alone. How do you think he would handle living without you? Think about how you're feeling right now, do you want to subject Al to those same feelings?" Roy argued.

Roy continued to stare at Ed, not taking his eyes off of him for a moment as he impatiently waited for the blonde's inevitable comeback argument.

"I have to do this colonel...for my brother. I wouldn't be able to live knowing that I could have helped him, and didn't. That he died because I didn't listen to whoever the hell these people are!" Ed replied, on the verge of tears; fists shaking.

Roy hung his head, at a loss for words. He wasn't going to be able to sway Ed'd decision. His loyalty to Al was never-ending, and he was hellbent on getting him back no matter the cost. But being the stubborn man he naturally was, he wasn't going to stop trying. So the next words that left his mouth surprised even himself.

"If not for yourself, stay for me." he asked; at a barely audible whisper.

* * *

Ed turned his head and looked at the dark-haired man slightly wide-eyed; "what did you just say?"

He watched as Roy took a moment, as if trying to gain the confidence to repeat the words he had just barely whispered moments ago. But soon enough, he repeated himself, with more volume, "Stay for me. _Please_Ed. I don't want you to do this. I care too much about you to let you walk into this trap so easily. Please, we'll get Al back. I swear to you! We'll do it our way, you don't have to surrender like this, this isn't you!" Roy pleaded with him.

Ed gritted his teeth; torn with what to do. He couldn't ignore Roy's pleading words now like he had earlier in the office, it wasn't as easy with just them two alone. Here was the man he cared about, desperately begging for him to stay with him, and stay safe. But he had his obligation to his brother, to keep him safe. Now conflicted, Ed clenched his fists in anger. He had to decide what he was going to do now, his brother could be dying, and he was wasting time here, reconsidering what he already thought he had decided on.

"DAMN IT ROY! Can't you see that I'm doing this for all of _you_?! By giving myself over to them I'm not only saving Al, but you and our friends as well! The only blood that needs to be shed is mine! I'm tough, I'll fight my way out of wherever they decide to keep me. And you'll see me again in no time. You know I'm resilient, give me some credit." Ed tried to comfort him.

But Ed could see the raging conflict in Roy's dark eyes as well. He knew that he was probably considering whether to simply restrain him from handing himself over, or to reluctantly let him go.

"Roy...I care about you too...that's why you have to let me do this. You know how much Alphonse means to me...I can't just sit back knowing I can save him right now."

"Ed..."

"Don't Roy. Don't make this harder on me than it already is..." Ed now begged.

"I can't just let you go now Ed...not after everything we've said..." Roy said, his fists now being clenched in his lap.

"You have to." was Ed's only response as he reached for the handle to open the door, but was stopped by Roy's firm grip.

"Edward, stay. Please. What if I never see you again?" he pleaded again.

"You and I both know neither of us would let that happen," he smiled weakly, trying to comfort the colonel, "so let me go Roy...let me go save my brother...I need you to stay here and wait for him to show up." he ordered quietly.

"I'm not letting you leave." he repeated more urgently.

"But you have to!" Ed yelled as he yanked his arm free from Mustang's grip and bolted from the car and down the street. Running as fast as his mismatched legs would carry him, he sprinted towards 271st street. He could hear Roy's heartbreaking yells, desperate and begging for him to return, but he couldn't turn back now, not after all of that. The exchange of emotions between himself and Roy clawed at Ed as he continued to run. So Roy Mustang did care about him. Who would have thought? Now he would have something to look forward to once he guaranteed Al's safety and got himself free from his soon-to-be captors' clutches.

It didn't take Ed long to reach his destination, and he slowed his pace down and stopped on the corner of the designated meeting place. He glanced over his shoulder and could still see the car where he had left Mustang. He was relieved that Roy had stayed put like he had asked; he needed Al to have someone to take care of him once he was handed over, after all, Ed didn't even know what type of condition his little brother could possibly be in.

He whipped back around upon hearing footsteps echoing from the nearby alley, and he braced himself for anything to happen; these people said they were going to hand Al over peacefully, but you never knew when a criminal would go back on their word.

"So you did show up?" a mocking voice from the alley said.

Chuckles could be heard from the same area as the man with the mocking voice stepped out into the light, followed by four other men at his heels.

"Boys, behold! The Fullmetal Alchemist stooped below his level to save his little baby brother. How touching. Look how high and mighty he is now!" the man with the mocking voice sneered; holding his hands out towards Ed, as if presenting him to a crowd.

"Where's Alphonse? You promised to give him back if I surrendered." Ed demanded.

"Calm down, we wouldn't want a little shrimp like you to get angry would we?" he taunted.

The rage of his size being made fun of began to rapidly build up inside of Ed's body, but he restrained himself, knowing he had to keep his cool right now; he couldn't lose his temper, it could cost him Al.

"Oh? What's this? I was told you hate people commenting on your puny size little alchemist. I admit, I'm a little disappointed that you didn't go on one of your crazy pissed-off rants." he smirked; tempting Ed to lose it.

"Give me Al. _Now_."

"You're not messing around are you alchemist? Fine, don't be fun. Boys!" the man snapped his fingers and two of the men departed from his side back into the alley.

Ed craned his neck, wondering if Al really was just around the corner; if he was, he could have simply just knocked all the goons out and ran off with Al, but unfortunately he couldn't do that now. He waited; hoping that he would see Al's face soon. Glaring at the three men across from him, he strained his ears for any sounds of struggling; but all he heard was the shuffling of some feet coming from the mysterious alleyway. And just when he thought he had been lied to, the two men returned, Al in hand. A cloth bag had been placed and tied loosely around Alphonse's head, and the men dragged him from beneath his arms, letting his feet drag nosily upon the cemented ground. His brother appeared to be thinner than normal, and he barely moved. Ed's heart raced with worry, what it Al wasn't okay? What if he was nearly dead? He clenched his fists tightly; eyebrows forming into a familiar scowl as he waited for the men to hand his brother over.

"Let him go already! You got what you wanted, so here I am!"

He watched the mocking-voice man nod his head towards the other two who held Al in their grip, and they ripped off the bag on Al's head. His eyes were closed, and his mouth hung slightly open. He looked paler than normal; he looked ill.

"Al?! _Al_?! Can you hear me?" Ed yelled from where he stood.

He waited, until Al finally stirred. His eyes fluttered open slowly, and he barely lifted his head, "B-brother...?" he responded weakly.

"Yeah! It's me Al! You're gonna be okay! You'll be safe soon!" Ed promised his little brother.

"I knew you'd come...I knew you'd come for me..." Al mustered to say before shutting his eyes once more and falling limp in the men's arms.

"Al? Hey, talk to me buddy!" Ed asked frantically; the scowl on his face disappearing and being replaced with fear. "What did you do to him?!"

"Me? Oh I didn't do anything," he chuckled, "now the boss on the other hand, well who knows what he did to your poor innocent brother?"

The scowl now returned to Ed's face, "let him go, now. And I'll go with you quietly." he snarled.

"You heard him boys, let him go."

The men did as they were told and dropped Al's still body to the ground. He landed with a soft thud, and Ed ran to him to be sure he didn't get further injured.

"You bastards! He is already weak! Why would you drop him?!"

"You said 'let him go.' Your words, not mine." he shrugged his shoulders as if nothing mattered.

Gritting his teeth, he leaned over to Al's ear, "I'll see you again soon Al, okay? Mustang will come pick you up once I'm gone, you're gonna be okay." he promised again.

"You ready yet little brat?"

"Yeah," Ed answered angrily, "let's go."

With another nod from the man with the annoying mocking voice, the same two men who held Al, grabbed Ed's arms to make sure he didn't try to make a run for it. Glaring at them, he followed when they tugged on his limbs. Beginning to walk back down the alley from which they came, Ed heard the sound of rubber boots running towards them. He groaned, knowing exactly who it was.

* * *

Roy ran straight around the corner into the alley where Ed was being taken.

"Release Fullmetal. And no one gets hurt." Roy commanded; fingers poised and ready to snap.

"_YOU STUPID BASTARD! GET OUT OF HERE_!" Ed warned him.

"Quiet Fullmetal." was his only response

"Well well well, if it isn't the flame alchemist. What a pleasant surprise." the man looked at Edward accusingly, "I thought we told you to come alone. Now we're gonna have to fix that aren't we?" he smiled devilishly.

Roy watched as the man conversed with Ed, his golden eyes widening as he continued to speak. He was done wasting precious time, and just as he was about to fry all five of the men surrounding Edward, the man who was the clear leader spoke:

"It was a pleasure to meet you colonel, but I'm afraid it's time to say goodbye."

"ROY! _RUN_!" Ed screamed.

But it was too late; Roy watched as one of the men swiftly pulled out a gun and aimed for his chest. He was too slow, and the bullet hit him. He fell to the ground, and the blood began to pour out of his body rapidly. His vision blurred as he watched Ed get dragged away from him screaming; crying.

The world around him spun and he managed to pull himself towards Al. He picked the younger boy up, and set his motionless body onto his lap. He pulled him close, making sure no more harm would come to him, and he slowly and reluctantly closed his eyes, allowing the darkness to swallow him up.

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_**Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the cliff hanger! Stay tuned for the next chapter! As always, thanks for reading! I truly appreciate it, and it keeps me writing for you all. =)**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Author's Note: Here it finally is everyone! I sincerely apologize for leaving you guys hanging for longer than usual, but I ended up getting stuck on how I wanted to write this chapter. I am pleased with the end result, and I hope you all enjoy it!**_

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Hughes looked down; horrified by the two familiar faces of his best friend and of Edward's brother. They both lay still on the ground, and were soaked in blood. He couldn't be sure if only one or both of them had been wounded that severely to produce the pool of blood that they now laid in. His mind whirled at the all too real image that was sprawled out before his eyes, and he almost couldn't bring his shock-stricken body to move and react to the situation. But with effort; Hughes snapped out of his fearful state and moved his stiff legs closer to the two men on the ground, leaned over, and carefully lifted Alphonse from atop of Roy. He made his way to the car and placed Al in the passenger seat, then went back for his friend. He picked Mustang up gingerly, and started back towards the vehicle as quickly as he dared. And after carefully lying him down in the back seat, wrapping a makeshift bandage around his bleeding chest, he hopped into the driver's seat and sped down the road directly towards the hospital.

As he drove well past the speed limit, Hughes's mind raced. How on earth did Roy manage to get himself shot this time? He usually was fairly quick on his feet, and would have definitely noticed if a gun was pointing at him. He was probably doing something reckless; like trying to protect Ed or Al in an impossible situation, and obviously failed miserably. Even though he wanted to be furious at his brave-hearted idiot of a friend for putting himself in such danger, he couldn't bring himself to be upset about that right now; not when Roy was barely clinging onto his life. He could hear the shallow and labored breathing from the dark-haired man from the back; knowing that he probably only had minutes left to live before he bled to death, or before the bullet simply took it's toll and killed him first. He then quickly glanced at Alphonse, visually assessing his health. He didn't seem to be on the brink of death like Roy did, he only appeared to be in a deep sleep. His breathing was slow, but normal, and he looked weak, most likely from a lack of food. Al would probably recover fairly fast, but Roy on the other hand was another case altogether.

Finally reaching the hospital, Hughes skidded to a halt and parked clumsily next to the curb. Practically leaping out if the car, he rushed into the building yelling for help. Aid was swiftly at his side, and he led them back out to the car where the injured men lay unconscious. Within seconds, both men were on stretchers, and being rushed into the building. As Hughes followed, Roy and Al were being taken in opposite directions; Roy to the emergency room, while Al was being pushed to a regular hospital room to recover. The green-eyed man was torn; he didn't know who to follow. Both meant a lot to him, and he didn't want to abandon either one. Pinching the bridge of his nose, whilst lifting his glasses from his face, he tried to decide who to accompany. After a brief moment of uncertainty, he decided it best to keep an eye on Roy at this time, seeing how his condition was severely worse than Al's.

Hughes ran down the hall, catching up with Roy and the doctors who pushed the stretcher that he laid on down the white hall. Finally reaching the operating room, they ushered Mustang's motionless body inside. When Hughes tried to follow, he was ordered by the nurse to wait outside; he grunted his reluctant understanding an sat down on a bench a short distance away from the room where his friend was fighting for his life. Resting his head in his hands, he could hear the muffled and urgent tones of the people inside the operating room as they worked rapidly to save Roy's life.

As the minutes dragged on like hours, Hughes thought it best to check on Alphonse; knowing all too well that he wouldn't know the extent of Roy's injuries, or even if he was going to make it, anytime soon. It was best to put his worries on the back-burner for now; because worrying about Mustang wasn't going to help him get better any sooner. Finalizing his decision, the man with the glasses stood up and headed back down the hall towards the room where Al was placed. Upon reaching the room, he entered it quietly; not wanting to disturb his rest. He walked over to the bed, and sat down on the chair that was placed conveniently beside it. He looked more peaceful now; as opposed to not even a half hour earlier when Hughes had first found him. He simply sat and examined the young man with intense eyes. He didn't appear to be psychically abused at all, just deprived of the necessities like food and water. Hughes wasn't sure what to think of this, considering that Al had been kidnapped barely a week ago, and that whoever took him hadn't even left a single scratch on him. It was all too odd. But then again, maybe it wasn't. Maybe they really, whoever "they" were, didn't have any intention of actually harming Alphonse; they only took him to get to Ed. But if they had done just that, then they knew enough about the Elrics to know that they would sacrifice themselves for one another in a heartbeat if it was to save the other. They knew that this would have been the easiest way to capture Edward; taking Al instead of trying to kidnap the blonde in the first place. Hughes grimaced at the thought of these sick minded people taking advantage of the boys in this way.

While sitting deep in thought, he didn't even notice the nurse come in the room. It took him more than a moment to realize her presence, and he removed himself from his thoughts and turned his attention to the nurse.

"How is he doing?" he asked.

She stepped quietly to the other side of Al's bed; checking his stats before responding, "he's doing fine, for a young man who has been deprived of food and water for six days that is." she answered.

He nodded, "Hm. Just as I thought." he said as he glanced back at Al before he spoke again, "and what about Colonel Mustang? Do you have any word on his condition yet?" he inquired quietly.

"I haven't gotten the official word yet, but from what I had seen it looks like he'll be okay. But I cannot be certain, so please Lieutenant-Colonel do not take my word for it. I would not want to give you false hope. His wound was very severe."

"Understood. Thank you."

"You're welcome." she said as she left the room; leaving Hughes alone with Al again.

He sat there, for what seemed like ages before he realized he hadn't contacted anyone about what had happened. He promptly stood up and headed out of the room to find a telephone. He got lucky when he didn't have to search far for the phone, and he picked it up; dialing to Central Command.

"Hello?" he heard Hawkeye's familiar voice say.

"Riza, hey it's me."

"Hello Hughes, did you find Colonel Mustang yet?"

He let out a deep sigh before answering the lieutenant's query, "yes, I found him, and I found Alphonse too."

She paused, "if you found them, then why haven't you brought them back here?"

"Because, Roy was badly wounded, and he is still in surgery. And as for Al, he is asleep right now. He just needs a good meal and some rest."

"I'm glad to hear Alphonse is safe, but what happened to the colonel? Is he going to be okay?" she asked; the faintest hint of worry in her usually formal voice.

"No one has really talked to me about him yet, except a nurse who couldn't give me any concrete details. But I think he's going to make it. He got shot in the chest. And from the looks of it, it barely missed his heart,." he stopped, "very similar to my gun-shot wound that I received from that homunculus Envy."

"I see. Well we will be down to the hospital to accompany you shortly."

"Thank you, I'll see you soon then."

"Yes sir."

With that, Hughes hung up the phone and leaned against the wall. He stayed there, for what seemed like an hour, but was really about ten minutes. And in that time, he was soon bombarded by all of his friends who were in Roy's command. They all bore concerned expressions as they greeted Hughes and then headed to see Alphonse. Despite all their fears for their commanding officer, they were all relieved to see Alphonse safe and sound; even though it now meant that they now had lost Edward. It was a bittersweet reunion; and everyone wished things were under better circumstances.

As Hughes and the rest of the command crowded into Al's room, a doctor finally appeared. His green eyes darted over to the older man as he made his way through the group and greeted him.

"Hello, I'm Lieutenant-Colonel Maes Hughes, I'm the one who brought Colonel Mustang in."

"And you brought him in just in time Lieutenant-Colonel, any later and it might have been too late."

"So he is going to be okay?" Hughes asked earnestly.

"Yes, he should be. But he is still in critical condition. He's seems to be a tough one though, so I expect a full recovery."

"Do you have an estimation of how long it will be until he is able to return to work and such?"

"I do not, it is really up to him; or, I suppose it would be better to say his body. Some people would heal in weeks, while others might take months. It simply depends on him."

"When can we see him?"

The doctor paused, looking at his watch, "I would say it would be okay to visit him in an hour or so. The anhesthia should have mostly worn off by then. So you all may be able to speak with him and see how he got shot in the first place." he finished with a serious tone.

"Thank you doctor...?"

"Daniels."

"Thank you doctor Daniels. We are all forever in your debt for saving our commanding officer." Hughes thanked him sincerely.

"No debt, it's my job." he reassured them before walking away.

"Well I'm sure happy that the colonel is gonna be okay!" Havoc blurted out.

A simultaneous shooshing erupted from the room, warning Havoc to quiet down because Alphonse was still sleeping soundly.

"Sorry!" he said meekly.

Hughes smirked, Havoc was such a goof. And as the smirk began to fade, he looked to Hawkeye and saw that she was already looking at him.

"Hughes, have you called Miss Rockbell yet?"

Alarm flashed throughout his body at the sound of Winry's name; how could he have forgotten to call her of all people?

"No, I'm afraid I haven't. Let me to do that right now though-"

"Allow me." was all she said before walking out of the room to the telephone.

Maes was actually relieved that he didn't have to call Winry and Pinako; he was exhausted. He knew there was no reason that he should be, but he was. The adrenaline that had been pumping through his body earlier was long gone, and all he was left with was this heavy feeling of tiredness. He was about to slump into a chair when Riza returned looking as serious as ever.

"I called Miss Rockbell and Pinako and informed them of what has happened in the past few hours. They will be heading here immediately and will be accompanied by Major Armstrong since he is still currently with them."

"Thanks lieutenant."

She nodded and took a seat of her own, "Hughes?"

"Hm?"

"Maybe you should call your wife and let her know what is going on, just in case we're here late. I know how she can worry about you if you aren't home on time. Unless of course you have already called her."

"No, I haven't. Thanks for reminding me. I don't know what I would do without you or the guys right now. I'm so scatter-brained at the moment; I can't seem to remember to do anything important right now. The only thing I did right after bringing these two here was call you."

"Well it's a good thing you did sir." she gave a brief smile.

"Yes, it sure is." he said as he started to get up from his chair, "I'm going to go call my wife now." he smiled.

"Very good."

After having been departed from the room for several minutes, Hughes was surprised to see everyone crowded around Al's bed when he returned. As he got closer, he could see that the younger Elric was now awake; he looked drowsy, but nevertheless, he was still up.

"Give him some space everyone!" Hughes ordered.

Breda, Havoc, Falman, and Fuery all immediately took several steps back as Maes made his way closer to Al's bed.

"Hey there Al, how are you feeling?"

"Tired. And hungry." he said weakly.

"We'll fix that up soon." Hughes promised as he looked towards Hawkeye; she understood and went to fetch a nurse.

"Where's Ed?" Al asked warily.

Hughes gritted his teeth before answering, debating whether to tell him the truth now or later. Deciding it was best not to lie to the young man, he told him the truth, "he exchanged himself for you Al." he said quietly.

"What? No! Why would he do that?" he questioned worriedly.

"It's Ed, Al. You know he would do anything for you; you're his little brother."

"He was supposed to come save me...not just surrender." he whispered.

"I'm sorry Al, but we'll get him back. I promise. There is no need to worry. Besides, we all know how tough Ed is, he'll be fine. He knew what he was doing." he reassured him.

All Al could do was nod as he looked up to see the nurse bring in a plate of food. Hughes watched as Alphonse eyed it hungrily; the nurse was explaining to him that he should take it slow when he ate, considering he hadn't eaten in six days. His stomach could have shrunk a little, and if he ate too fast or too much, it could damage it. Alphonse nodded and grabbed the plate very eagerly considering his weak condition, and he began to eat as slowly as he could force himself to. Hughes smiled at the sight, relieved that Al was going to be alright.

Glancing at the clock he realized that they would probably be able to finally check up on Roy, and he informed everyone that he and Lieutenant Hawkeye were going to visit Mustang first; everyone else had to stay with Al and make sure he was eating his food at the proper pace and not eating too much.

When he was sure they all acknowledged the order, Hughes stepped out with Hawkeye and they walked step in step down to where Roy was being kept. As they got closer to the room, Maes braced himself for any shocking image of his friend. The Colonel was usually a very serious-looking man who was strong. Walking into the room, he saw a weak Roy Mustang; a man who needed weeks of recovery before he would be able to function properly on his own. The only upside of his new appearance was that he was awake; barely, but he was conscious. Hearing a low groan of pain escape the dark-haired man's mouth, he slowly walked over and sat beside the bed, with Hawkeye looming over him.

"How are ya feeling there Roy?" Hughes asked sincerely of his friend.

He grunted, "I've been better."

"Yeah, you have." Mars chuckled, "But I'm glad to see you awake now. You had me really worried earlier."

"Sorry." was all he mumbled in response.

"But look at it this way, now we have matching wounds! Our friendship is forever marked permanently on our bodies!" he joked with the bed-ridden man.

A soft chuckle was heard before Roy spoke again, "I suppose we do don't we?" his relieving expression soon disappeared and was replaced with a more serious than normal one and he asked, "do you know if Fullmetal is alright?"

Hughes could feel Riza's eyes on him as he hesitated to answer, knowing how his friend would react, "No. I didn't see him when I found you and Al. Whoever the people were, they were long gone. But you were lucky I decided it best to follow you, otherwise you would have died if I had showed up any later than I had." he answered with a morbid tone.

He watched as Roy's eyes darkened with rage; "I should have been able to save him."

"Roy, you got shot, any normal man wouldn't have been able to save Ed either."

"But I'm not a normal man am I?" he growled as loudly as he could, "I'm the flame alchemist...I shouldn't have even got shot in the first place. If I had just burned those evil men a few seconds sooner, none of this would have happened...and I could have saved both Elrics." he finished regretfully as if remembering the recent memory like it was happening right before his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault Roy. Don't worry, like we kept promising Ed that we would get Al back, I'm going to promise you that we'll get Edward back too. It's either that or he'll break his way out of wherever they took him." Hughes smirked; trying to reassure him that everything would work itself out.

He nodded, "Al is okay then? Does he have any injuries? He was passed out when I got to him."

"Yeah he's in better condition than you are in. He just wasn't getting any food, so he'll be good as new in a few days I'd think."

"That's good...did he say anything about the people who took him? Like why they want Ed? Or who it is that wants him?"

"No, not yet. But he just woke up a little bit ago, and he's eating. I thought I would let him regain a little strength before I questioned him."

"Good thinking Hughes." he murmured as he winced in pain.

"Did you want me to get a nurse sir?" Riza finally spoke.

"No, it's okay Lieutenant." he tried to give a reassuring smile but failed.

"Very well. Would you want to see the others? I can go fetch them and stay with Alphonse."

"Sure, why not. Guess they should know they still have to put up with me right?" he said, this time managing a smirk.

"I'll send them down soon." was her response as she saluted him, leaving the room.

"You should get some sleep Roy." Hughes suggested.

"I'll be fine Hughes. How long did the doctor say I had to be here anyway?"

"He couldn't say for sure. Could be weeks, could be months. Depends on how fast your body heals."

"Wonderful." he said sarcastically.

Maes went quiet for a moment, then spoke again; quietly, "so Roy, how did trying to stop Ed from giving himself over to those men go?"

He watched as Roy's body stiffened, and then as he grimaced from the pain that it caused in his chest, "it obviously didn't go well Hughes. I couldn't stop him from leaving, even when I begged him to stay..." he finished at nearly a whisper.

"Did you tell him how you feel about him?" he asked carefully.

Receiving a glare from the dark-haired man before he spoke again, Maes gave him a sympathetic look; "In a sense...yes. I told Edward that I cared for him in more than an officer/subordinate way. But that still didn't keep him safe with me."

"I see that look, don't you dare regret telling Ed how you really feel. Besides, you can't take it back now. And I guarantee you admitting that to him will just give him more motivation to make it back home safe; for Al and you." he paused, and smirked, his eyes glinting mischievously, "did he tell you he cares about you too at least?"

It took a moment for him to reply, but when he did, his voice nearly cracked from a seeming sorrow, "yes...and that's why I tried to rescue him before they could take him away. Instead I ended up getting shot like an idiot."

"I'm glad you both finally admitted your feelings for one another." Maes smiled.

And just when Roy was about to respond, both men were interrupted when Mustang's command barged in.

"Hey colonel how ya feeling?" Breda asked.

"Yeah Mustang, how are you doing? I'm sure glad you're alright." Havoc cut in.

"I'm fine guys, just a bit of pain where the bullet hit me." Roy reassured them.

Hughes watched as the men let out a relieved sigh that they seemed to have been keeping in since they had arrived here at the hospital. Now, it was time to wait. Time to wait for Winry to arrive. Time to wait for Roy and Alphonse to recover, and time to wait and see if Ed would need rescuing or not.

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**_Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the longer than normal chapter! Stay tuned for the next update! And as always, thank you so much for reading!_**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Author's note: I am sorry that this chapter is only about half the length of my regular ones, but I felt it didn't need to be as long. Also sorry it took a little longer to get out, I keep getting busy! Enjoy!**_

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Edward opened his golden eyes blearily; blinking as he tried to adjust to the florescent lights that shined directly onto his face. He tried to figure out where he was, and what had happened. His mind was foggy, like he was hung over, and he was tired as he tried to recall previous events. Gears grinding viciously in his head, he mustered all the energy he could, focusing pointedly on trying to remember how he had got here (wherever here was) and why. With a struggle to read into his hazy memories, he finally remembered what had happened.

_Ed was giving himself up to save his little brother Alphonse. He was staring at the despicable men who had stolen him away from his own family's home. He fought back the urge to brutally beat the revolting kidnappers right here and now, but he couldn't for Al's sake. He listened to their insults and taunting; rage rapidly boiling to his limit of self-restraint. Finally having enough of their crap, he growled his words threateningly; ordering the men to hand over Alphonse like they had promised. He watched as they seemed reluctant to oblige Ed's words, but soon Al was in the blonde's sights once more. He let out a relived sigh that he didn't know that he had been holding; happy to see that his brother didn't appear to be too badly hurt. In spite of noticing this, he still spat at the men before him; too pissed off to hold his anger back any further. The men then proceeded to drop Al to the concrete ground, and in the blink of an eye, Ed was at his younger brother's side to make sure he was okay. As he crouched by his limp body, in the back of his mind he was astonished that Mustang hadn't already showed up to assist him. The colonel was known to disobey orders when people he cared about were in danger. Ed hated to admit it to himself, but deep down, he was secretly hoping that Roy would go back on his word and save him and Al. But he knew that he shouldn't hope for such a thing, if Mustang decided to, essentially 'come to his rescue', he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he hot hurt on his behalf._

_Still beside his brother, he heard the annoying voice of the man who was in charge of the others. He was asking Ed if he was ready to go with them as their captive; the fiery blonde nodded reluctantly, whispering to his brother's unconscious form that Colonel Mustang would come pick him up soon, before leaving with the men. As the unknown criminals led Ed back down the alley from which they came, he could hear the sound of boots thundering quickly towards his location. He flinched at the sound; not wanting to have heard it. He knew what it meant, and it made him fear for Roy's life.__Within seconds the dark-haired man wearing military blue came into view; and by the looks of it, he meant business. The older man's authoritarian mask was placed so firmly, that Ed believed it may have been permanent. The blonde listened as he heard Mustang order the men to release him. His initial reaction was to yell at the idiot for putting himself at such risk of danger; so he had decided it best to yell at him to get out of there. Roy had told him to be quiet in response, as he then proceeded to threaten to incinerate the kidnappers if they didn't cooperate. The man who was in charge of the current operation gave Mustang a sly look as he answered to the death threat like it was no big deal. Edward began to glare at the man for saying such smug words to his colonel, when then suddenly turned to face him. He began to speak, but the sound of his heart racing in his chest drowned out the words as Ed saw the man discreetly slide out a gun hidden in the back of his pants. He watched the man turn away, back in Roy's direction, as he continued to talk inaudible words. The gun swiftly lifted, and Es screamed for Roy to run; but it was too late. He watched Mustang get shot squarely in the chest; the blood in his veins turned icy cold. His world spun before his eyes as he involuntarily began to weep and yell; watching as Roy fell to his knees and then to the ground, the blood gushing profusely from his chest. He kicked and screamed, fighting to get free and help out his commanding officer, but the men were too strong and they continued to drag him further from the two most important men in his life. But before he could continue his struggle, his world went dark as the sharp tip of a needle was injected into his flesh arm.__  
_  
A cold sweat covered Ed's body as the memory finished vividly in front of his eyes. He was in the kidnappers' hideout; a prisoner. The realization of being chained up to a wall flooded his already frantic mind, and he tugged on the metal, attempting to break free.

"Don't waste your energy Fullmetal Alchemist, you have too many sedatives coursing throughout your body that are preventing you from breaking free." a cold voice said darkly; a hint of humor laced in it.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Ed demanded, venom dripping from his own voice.

The voice of the unknown captor chuckled, "You haven't figured it out yet? Sad, you're supposed to be a prodigy. A genius of sorts. I admit, I'm disappointed Edward Elric." the voice paused, "but I don't think I'm quite at liberty to reveal my identity yet dear boy."

Ed could almost hear the smirk from the words spoken by the nearby voice, and it sent chills down his spine. Who was this man? What did he want?

"Is the light too bright for you little man? The light prevents you from seeing me, so it stays on."

"I don't need to see your ugly face you bastard to know that I already don't like you!" Ed spat.

"Harsh words from someone who is chained to a wall. Good luck getting out of here little alchemist, because I won't make it easy." the voice chuckled again.

"What do you want with me?" he growled.

"One word Edward: revenge."

"What did my brother and I ever to do you?!"

"This isn't about your brother, this is all about you. The only reason I took him was to lure you to me, but you were too stupid to find him. So, I decided to contact you and your little friends at Central Command; knowing all too well that you would hand yourself over with no hesitation if it meant keeping little Alphonse safe."

"Well you have me now, so get whatever the hell you want to do with me over with!"

"Eager are we? Oh no, what I have in store for you will take time." the voice said silky smooth. "Oh Edward, I forgot to say, I was watching you as you started to wake up, and I watched as your eyes went from groggy to burning rage, with a hint of tears. Why is that?" the voice taunted evilly.

"None of your business bastard. Besides, I wouldn't tell a faceless person anything!"

"I am merely hidden in the shadows Edward Elric. And as for your beloved Mustang,"

Edward froze at the sound of Roy's name, not wanting to be reminded of him being shot.

"he didn't make it." the voice laughed.

"YOU'RE LYING!"

"Am I? I was under the impression that he quickly bled to death. My men left him for dead alchemist, he's gone; and he's not going to save you. So your tears and feeble yells were for nothing, my men said it was such a pathetic sight to see." the voice finished, almost sounding disgusted.

Ed bit back tears unable to respond to the voice's words; knowing that he was probably right. Roy was dead. He would never get to see if he could have ever had a life with the older man. And he would probably die in here without getting to see his brother's smiling face again. He was alone. He was trapped; shackled to this wall and unable to escape whatever was in store for him. His only chance was to hope that Mustang's command would find him; wherever he was.

"Don't cry Edward Elric, you'll see all your loved ones soon enough; in the afterlife that is." he laughed maniacally.

"WHO. ARE. YOU?" his voice turning dark with rage.

He could hear the man behind the voice sigh, "must I give away my identity already?"

"TELL ME DAMMIT!"

The light switched off from Edward's face; and his eyes began to adjust to lower the light in the rest of the building. The sound of footsteps nearing him filled his cell as he looked up at his captor's face; horrified.

"What is it Elric? Do you not recognize me?"

"H-how? You. I saved you. You weren't bad anymore!" Ed managed in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

Pride leaned down closer to Ed's face and whispered, "Looks like you failed Edward, I'm back, and you're mine."

* * *

**_Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thank you for reading! Stay tuned! =)_**

**_Oh and please let me know if there are typos, thanks!_**


	14. Chapter 14

_**Author's Note: Hello again everyone! Here's chapter 14! I hope you enjoy it! And, I hope the length is satisfying, I feel like it's a tad short, but I'll let you all decide on that. Let me know and leave comments! Thanks!**_

_**Warning: Brief violence/terror.**_

* * *

"The homunculus Pride is behind all of this?" Maes asked in pure disbelief.

Al nodded, "I'm just as shocked as you are Hughes. Ed told me he defeated Pride by completely exhausting his philosopher stone, he told me all that remained was the child Selim; nothing more, nothing less."

"So he is or isn't a homunculus still?"

"As far as I could tell, he's human, and no longer a child either; he appears to be more in his mid or late 20's. Besides, if he was still a homunculus, I think he would have captured brother himself; instead of hiring other people to do it."

Hughes grunted his acknowledgment of the younger Elric's logic before speaking again, "did he tell you anything? Anything from his plans for Ed, or the location you were held?"

He watched as Al shook his head in shame, "no, I'm sorry. Pride didn't divulge anything, even when I tried to get information out of him."

"It's alright Al, just being able to finally put a face to our enemy is more than enough. So thank you." he finished, patting Al's shoulder reassuringly. He then smiled at him, and watched as the confusion on the young man's face became more apparent by the second.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"Guess who you get to see soon?"

A spark of hopefulness flashed in Al's light brown eyes before he took his guess, "Winry?"

Maes nodded, still grinning. At least one good thing was happening from this whole mess; two loved ones were going to be reunited.

Al beamed, "when will she be here?"

"Should be here by tomorrow evening."

"Thanks." he smiled gratefully.

"Of course! Now, I'm gonna go visit Roy and fill him in on what you have told me."

"How is the colonel?"

"Frankly, he's lucky to he alive. But give him a few weeks and he should be as good as new."

"Can you tell him something for me?"

Maes waited expectantly for the information he would have to relay to his commanding officer.

"Thank him for risking his life for brother and me once again. I, I mean we, can't ever thank him enough."

"Sure Al, I'll pass it on."

He nodded, and with the final words of the conversation, Hughes headed back to see Mustang. The walk down the hall was no longer daunting or tedious, now that all of the uncertainty for Roy and Alphonse's lives had been cleared up. Upon entering the room, Maes was pleased to see, that even in the short amount of time that he has been absent from Roy's presence, he seemed to have already improved. One thing that he never doubted was his friend's ability to continue to trudge on no matter the circumstances. Hughes couldn't deny that it was an admirable quality, but it did sometimes get the colonel into trouble.

* * *

Roy smiled seeing Hughes come back into his room; he didn't like being alone in hospitals on occasion. It seemed like he had already been here for ages, even though it had only been hours. And though Hughes had only been gone for roughly half an hour to ask Alphonse a few questions about his captors, it had also seemed like hours. He didn't like to feel useless or helpless, it wasn't in his nature. So having his friend back in the room, relaxed him a little bit.

"Hey buddy, how ya feeling?" Hughes asked optimistically.

"A little better actually." Mustang answered.

"You look like you do."

"Oddly enough." he chuckled. But it was soon replaced with a more serious tone, "So, what did you learn from Al?"

Roy watched as Maes' face went from chipper to dark, "Well. I found out who has Ed."

"Who?" Roy asked more angrily and desperate than intended.

"Pride."

A mixture of disbelief, shock, and confusion splattered themselves all over Roy's chiseled face, "The homunculus?"

"Afraid so." Hughes said. "But Al doesn't think he retained any of his inhuman abilities. He simply is," he paused, "human. Besides that, Alphonse said Pride is an adult, probably in his 20's."

"How could he be that old already? It hasn't even been a year since the Promise day! He was just a child, he couldn't have grown that fast!"

"But he did Roy. That is without a philosopher stone as far as we know. And, maybe this is an advantage. Maybe his accelerated aging is a weakness."

"What if it isn't?"

"Well even if it isn't, he is still human, which levels the playing field for us. And alchemy may have just become an advantage for us." he said suggested, the serious edge on his voice disappearing.

"Regardless, we need to save Edward. Who knows what Pride has planned for him." Roy said worriedly.

"We don't know where to look Roy..."

"Damn it Hughes! Don't give me that excuse! If I wasn't bedridden I would go out there and find him myself! And the longer you and the rest of the command sit here watching Alphonse and me, the more likely it is that Ed is being harmed, or worse." he ranted angrily.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to make excuses my friend...I know how much he means to you. You're right. We can't just sit here and wait for Ed to show up, even he might not be able to escape."

"Thanks Hughes...I'm sorry for yelling, I just. I can't lose him. I owe him too much to fail him now."

"You love him."

Roy looked at his friend; his face grew hot, and his heart thudded in his chest, "I-I-" he stuttered.

"Calm down Mustang," he kidded, "it's alright. I'm sure you haven't realized it yet, because you've never been in love; you've only had many one night stands with your previous lovers." he smirked.

"Shut-up Hughes." he spluttered embarrassed by the conversation.

"Ah, okay I'll stop making you feel uncomfortable." he laughed; eyes twinkling behind his glasses.

"Just find Fullmetal Maes, and get him home safe. For me, for Al, and for everyone else who cares about that troublesome blonde." he said, smirking to himself at his last comment.

"Yes sir!" he saluted the dark haired man jokingly.

"What's this? Saluting me? That's new."

"Felt like the appropriate thing to do at the moment."

"Hughes."

"Hm?"

"Go gather the rest of the command, and bring them here. I would like to talk with everyone."

"Sure thing. Be back soon." he said as he began to depart from the room, "Oh Roy, one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Al wanted me to thank you for always risking your life for him and Ed. He said they can't thank you enough."

"Good to know I'm appreciated." he smirked. "Since I assume you're heading back to his room, tell him it's not a problem at all. Those boys are worth saving."

"Will do." he said as he finally left the room.

Alone with his thoughts once more, Roy let out a sigh. All of this new information, was releiving and worrying all at the same time. Knowing who was behind this sick plan was good for strategy, but Roy also knew how ruthless the hominculi could be. And even though Pride was supposedly pure human now, that didn't mean he had lost his cunning and destructive ways.

Suddenly, flashes of his horrifying dream invaded his thoughts. But instead of a weeping Ed over Al's lifeless body, it was a distraught Alphonse sobbing atop of Edward's. Pride stood in the shadows, evily laughing; seemingly proud to have ended the blonde's life. Roy flinched at the thought, and an aching pain filled his chest. He wouldn't let that haunting vision become true; he couldn't. His fists clenched in anger, why did he have to get shot and become so useless? He felt like an idiot got being so careless, not thinking things through like he should have. Instead he had let his feelings get in the way when he should have simply followed Ed's captors to their hiding place. As his rage escalated, the wound in his chest began to cause him sharp pain. He clenched at it, attempting to make the pain subside, but it didn't. He tried to stay calm and still, but the pain was too much. He fumbled around his bedside and managed to click the button that would cause a nurse to come to his aid. Soon, a nurse came bolting in, and saw the obvious pain the colonel was in. She rushed away and came back with pain killers. Roy was thankful for them as the pain slowly began to ebb away.

"Thanks..." he grunted.

"It's my job colonel. Next time, try to keep relaxed, it will help."

He nodded, and the nurse left promptly. But the isolation didn't last long as Hughes and the rest of his command filed into the small room. He noticed Hughes questioning expression, but he shook his head, letting him know everything was fine.

"Hello everyone, I needed to inform you of something."

They all waited patiently for what their superior officer had to say to them.

"I want you all to begin searching for Fullmetal. We now are aware that out enemy is Pride. For whatever reason, he wants Edward. We don't know what he has planned for him, so we need to hurry and find him as soon as possible; time is not on our side. Hughes, Hawkeye. I want you two to take control and organize a plan that will allow you to search the city in the most efficient way possible. Don't miss any inch. I'm counting on you all, we owe Elric alot, it's time we repay him and save his life this time. Let me know if anything is found out, or if the situation changes. Dismissed."

"Yes sir!" his commrades responded and filed out, ready to search for their blonde alchemist.

Feeling more at ease that Edward was now being searched for, Roy decided it best to try and get some rest. He wanted to recover as soon as possible, after all he didn't know when his abilities and skills would be needed to save the man he cared about more than anyone else. He closed his eyes, knowing that Edward was probably putting up a good fight, and taking no crap from Pride or his henchmen.

* * *

Ed screamed in pure agony. He was strapped down to an operating table, with a blade being stabbed into his side. The knife dug in deep, and Pride made sure it hurt to the maximum potential as he twisted it full circle between Ed's ribs.

"DAMN YOU BASTARD!" was all Ed could manage to spit out at a breathy pant as he tried to ignore the searing pain in his side and all over the rest of his beaten body.

Pride smirked joyfully, "Oh my dear Edward, we're just getting started."


	15. Chapter 15

_**Author's note: Looks like I got this chapter out much faster than usual, I hope you all enjoy this! =) This went back to a more regular length chapter, and I hope everyone enjoys it! Thanks!**_

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Rays of sun shone through Al's hospital room window. The day was still young, and time was working against him. His patience wore thin, as he tried to wait for Winry's arrival, and waited for any news of Ed.

Regardless of only having been hospitalized for not even a day, Al felt significantly better. All he needed was some food and water. Pride hadn't done him any psychical harm, but he wasn't so sure if his brother would be spared from such things. Ed was tough, but even he had his limits, and Alphonse was worried that he would end up reaching them in Pride's grasp. He shuddered even thinking of what could happen to Ed if he didn't make it out himself, or wasn't saved in time; so he averted his mind elsewhere. He thought of how much of a lecture he was going to give his hot headed brother once he was with him again. How reckless of him for simply walking willingly into the enemy's grasp. Did he know how dangerous it was? Al sighed, knowing he couldn't be mad at Ed for saving his life once again. A couple more days and he wouldn't even have been alive, and Ed wouldn't have had a brother to give himself up for.

The constant thinking was giving Al a headache, and he shut his eyes; attempting to avoid a worse headache. Eyes closed, he relied on his hearing now, and he heard voices out in the hall. They sounded welcoming and happy, and he wondered who it could be. Maybe it was someone's loved one who had just recovered from a serious injury, and a family was rejoicing, knowing that they were going to be okay. Or maybe it was a visitor, simply happy to see their best friend still pushing through the disease that should have claimed them weeks ago. Regardless of what the occasion was, the happy sounds brought joy to Alphonse. He began to drift into sleep, not aware that he had even been tired, until he heard footsteps in his room. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life.

Winry.

"Winry! You're here!" Al said excitedly.

"Oh Al! I'm so happy you're okay!" she said, practically leaping into the younger Elric's arms.

"Of course I'm okay Winry, I had to be, for you and Ed." he smiled warmly.

She hugged him tightly, "I thought I lost you." she said softly into his ear.

"No, you won't ever lose me. Not like that."

"Al?"

"Winry?"

"Al I. I missed you so much. And when I thought I wasn't going to ever see you again, I regretted not ever telling you something."

"I love you too Winry." he said sweetly, pulling her into a tighter embrace.

"I love you Al." she whispered back, returning the loving squeeze.

Their perfect moment was cut short, when Winry pulled away, and looked at Al, "where's Ed?"

Surprise shot through him as he returned her gaze reluctantly, "they didn't tell you?"

She hesitated, a puzzled look on her face as she began to slowly pull away, "tell me what Al? Where's Ed?"

"He isn't here Winry...in order to save me, he had to give himself over to the people who took me. They didn't want me anyway, they only wanted me so they could get to brother."

"But. He's okay right?"

He sighed, "I don't know. Colonel Mustang organized a search party to look for Ed. We're hoping he can get himself out, but it doesn't seem likely."

"Oh. I see. He'll be alright though, he always is."

"Yeah, he'll be fine." he agreed as he hugged her again, trying to reassure her just as much as himself. "Did Pinako come too?"

"No, she told me that she knew she would see you two soon, so there was no need for her to travel all the way to Central." she smiled jokingly.

"Oh Pinako." he laughed.

"However, guess who showed up at out house minutes before I left to come see you?"

"Who?" he asked cautiously.

"Mei." she smiled again.

"Really? Is she here with you?" he inquired excitedly.

"She should be here somewhere," she giggled, "but I couldn't tell you where. You know how she is, very independent, likes to explore. She did tell me that she would come visit you after you and I had some, as she put it, 'alone time'."

Al blushed, "well wasn't that thoughtful of her.

"Alphonse, you're adorable when you get all embarrassed." she stated as she slowly leaned in and kissed his lips.

"Oh I forgot just how much I missed you." he managed between soft kisses.

Their closeness was interrupted when Al heard someone clear their throat from within his hospital room.

"Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds." Hughes smirked.

It was Winry's turn to be embarrassed as Al watched her face flush red as she pulled away, but still held onto his hand as she sat herself on the edge of the bed.

"Hello Mr. Hughes, how are you doing?" Winry asked.

"I'm alright, just a bit tired, thanks for asking Winry." he smiled.

"Have you found anything new out about where Ed could be?" Al asked quietly.

He watched as the brightness from Hughes' green eyes dimmed as the question was asked, "we've scoured what seems like the whole city, and we haven't found any leads yet. I'm sorry Al. We're working hard. In fact, we were working through the night, so I'm going home right now to get a few hours of sleep, but then I'll be back soon to look some more."

"Thanks for working so hard. Be sure you get some good sleep."

"Will do Al, see you later. And don't worry, Riza, Breda, Armstrong, and Havoc are still out there looking."

He nodded, and then Hughes left him and Winry without another word, leaving the pair alone again. Al's light brown eyes turned to Winry's vibrant blue ones, and he could do nothing but smile. "You know, I missed you to. My beautiful blonde girl."

"Oh stop it Alphonse! You know I don't like being called that!" she raised her voice, half serious, half teasingly.

She leaned in to kiss him again, but once again, they were interrupted by another person. This time, he looked and saw Mei standing in the doorway, a little taller than when he last saw her. But other than that, the same. Her hair was still braided, and she still bore the same red and pink clothing. And Xiao Mei was still perched upon her small shoulder.

"Alphonse! Oh Alphonse how are you feeling?!" she greeted him worriedly.

"I'm doing good Mei." he smiled reassuringly.

"I'm glad! I've missed you! I couldn't believe it when Winry told me what happened, I'm so happy you're safe."

"Me too. How has life in Xing been treating you?"

"Good, my clan is getting along well with Ling's. And the philosopher stone is being put to good use."

"I'm glad to hear it," he paused, tilting his head questioningly, "so what made you come all the way back to Amestris so soon anyway Mei?"

"I wanted to see how everyone was recovering from last time. I also wanted to see Mr. Scar, but the scary miss Armstrong said he was out doing some sort of mission." she giggled.

"Does this mean you'll be staying with us for awhile?"

"I think so!" she beamed, "so where's Edward? I would like to see him too! Now that he got you home safe and sound like I knew he would!"

"Uh, Mei...he saved me. But. In order to save me, he had to give himself over to the people who took me. They really wanted him, I was just a tool for them to use to lure brother in."

"Who took you?! Or, him?" she asked appalled and surprised.

He waited a moment, not wanting to voice the truth aloud again, "...Pride. He survived."

A look of horror plastered itself on the young Xingeese girl's face, "everyone is looking for him though right?"

"Yes, right now they are. Colonel Mustang organized a search party. But he can't join them because he got shot trying to save Ed and me from Pride's goons. So currently, he is down the hall healing. He nearly died. But he should be okay in a few weeks or months, we can't be sure how long it will take."

"Alphonse...why do they want Ed?"

"I don't know...revenge probably." Al sighed.

"So he's been captive...somewhere...for a day now?"

"Just about. We hope to find him soon...who knows what Pride has planned for him...so we can't risk taking a long time to save him.

"Oh Alphonse! I'm so sorry! I'll do anything I can to help find your brother!" she vowed as she ran up and hugged Al.

Al hugged Mei back, thankful to have such wonderful friends in his life. Winry looked upon the embrace with admiration, she understood the true meaning of friendship, and she cherished all the ones she had made; Alphonse knew this because she had told him. He smiled back at her as he continued to hug Mei, grateful that she wasn't the jealous type of girlfriend.

"Thanks for being such a good friend Mei."

"Of course Alphonse! Always!"

* * *

Ed's breathing was labored. The wounds inflicted upon him by Pride were finally taking their toll. And the price was high. The stench of blood and sweat filled his nose as he continued to muster all the strength he could spare to try and break himself free of the straps that held him down. But it didn't work. It hadn't worked since he had woken up here. Tears of despair began to fill his golden eyes. Eyes that only a day before were filled with bright, fiery, determination, were now dull and lifeless. Worn from loss and defeat. Hope slowly drained from Ed's being as the time passed; each minute becoming more challenging and painful than the next.

When Pride had finally stopped his torture techniques, he had said he needed a break because Ed wasn't screaming to his satisfaction. Pride sickened Ed, what type of person, or monster did you have to be to want to hear another human scream in agony?

The sedatives were gradually wearing off, and along with a clearer head, came more pain. Ed couldn't understand how the sedatives he was given had also numbed some of the pain of the knives and various tools Pride had used to batter his body, but he wasn't going to complain.

His mind once again decided to remind him of Roy. The man he lost. One of the few people that he truly cared about; died trying to save him. Ed could feel his heart breaking, the thought of Roy not existing was unbearable, unthinkable. What would he do if he miraculously made it out of here alive? What then? He couldn't go in living a normal life without the dark haired man being a present part of it. He couldn't. The worst part was, even though they both had somewhat admitted their feelings for one another, Ed hadn't fully told the truth. He loved Roy. He didn't know when, or how he figured it out, but now, he just knew. He regretted not kissing the older man goodbye, regretted not telling him the full extent of how he truly felt. Somewhere along the way, loathing and annoyance had turned into respect and caring. It had turned into love. His heart ached, knowing that this time, Roy wasn't going to be here to save him from Pride's clutches.

"Ahhhh Edward. Deep in thought are we?" Pride's chilling voice echoed throughout the room where Ed was being held. "Are you ready to get back to our fun?"

"Go to hell you sick bastard." Ed hissed.

"Now now, we don't want to use language like that. Come now, we'll have even more fun this time. I'm certain I can make you scream in torturous agony, and then, I'll have you begging me to kill you." he chuckled.

"I'd like to see you try."

"A challenge eh? I think I shall take it dearest Edward." he said as he slowly slunk towards the table where he lay tied down, "Oh and Edward," he began again, leaning in close to Ed, "let's keep the escape attempts to a minimum shall we?"

And just like that, Pride re-inserted the same sharp knife back into Ed's side; directly between his ribs. The pain was nearly unbearable, ripping into the same fresh wound again. But Es wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of crying out in pain, no, instead, he gritted his teeth, barely holding back the sounds that Pride desperately craved.

Ed could see the surprised anger in the evil man's face, he managed a weak smirk, "what's wrong Pride? Am I too quiet for you? I thought you were gonna make me scream and beg for my death. Guess that's not working out for you is it."

"Quiet you!"

"Oh? Did I upset you?" he continued to taunt, "you're angry cause of that ugly dot on your forehead aren't you? Some people just can't help being hideou-"

"Shut-up you little maggot!" he screeched as he impaled Ed's right leg with a hot iron.

The shock and unpreparedness of the blow caused a deep gasp to escape Edward's chest.

"Damn you.." he grunted.

"I'm sorry, did that hurt?"

"Like hell, but I've been through worse." Ed responded, determined not to sound weak.

"I'll just have to make it hurt more next time then won't I?"

"Hey Pride, why are you so grown up anyway? You were a child when I left you, thinking it was only Selim left."

"If I knew the exact answer Elric, I would oblige to your question; however, I do not even know myself. But obviously, you did not eradicate all the darkness from my mind, soul, and body. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here right now."

"And what about your accelerated growth?" Ed asked again, hoping to distract the man from ripping into his flesh again.

"Ahhhh, that. I have concluded that for all the years I didn't mature, I am gaining them now. At a much faster rate or course. I predict that I have but a few years left to live. But they will not be in vain, I will have killed you before my time is up." he chuckled, an evil glint appeared in his eye, "After all, why wouldn't I want revenge upon the one who took away my all powerful alchemy? You stole what was most precious to me Edward Elric, and now, you pay the price. But you know all about equivalent exchange don't you?" he smirked devilishly.

"So you'll be old and weak soon, good to know. You just wanna kill me and get it out of the way."

"I see what you're doing boy, and it won't work!" he exclaimed, branding Ed with the iron once more.

Gritting his teeth once more, he held back the urge to react with agonizing screams.

"How much more of this do you really think you can take? You'll die soon from blood loss, or simply from a wound that caused too much damage to an important organ. Face it blondie, you're a goner. You're going to die here. You won't ever see a friendly face again."

Ed prayed he was wrong. Even though he didn't firmly believe in a higher power, he prayed, hoping someone, anyone, would answer his prayer. He needed to be rescued, he couldn't do this alone. If someone didn't come soon, Pride would be right. He would die alone here, and every effort in his life would become a waste; every death that occurred because of him would be for nothing, and Ed desperately didn't want that to happen.

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**_Author's Note: Please leave reviews and comments. I really enjoy hearing feedback, it may just be my favorite thing about this! Thank you so much for everyone's continued support, it is truly appreciated._**


	16. Chapter 16

_**Author's note: Hello again everyone! Behold chapter sixteen! I believe we're nearing the end of the story. Now I'm not saying the next chapter will be the last, but I am saying this story might be finished in a few more. Just thought I would warn you all so you are prepared in advance. =)**_

_**As always, thank you soooo much for your continued support and comments. It is all truly appreciated. I can't say it enough! Enjoy!**_

_**I also apologize that is is shorter than usual, but I think you'll all be excited about the ending.**_

* * *

Roy awoke from restless sleep. The nightmares had kept him up all night. And try as he might, attempting to sleep through the afternoon didn't work either. His body was sleek with sweat from the heat of the day, and the horrors of his dreams. His body was telling him what his mind already knew; that he was worried about Edward. But worried didn't cover the extent of his feelings, Roy was beyond that, and he was helpless to do anything to fix it or help save the blonde alchemist.

It had only been two days since Ed had last been in his sights, and it seemed like an eternity had passed. Not only because Roy cared deeply about him, but also because he didn't know where the blonde was, or if he was even still alive. His command had yet to find any solid leads on Edward's location, and it made Roy's skin crawl with nervousness. Every second could be Ed's last, and no one was there to prevent Pride from silencing the teen's angry rants for good.

Mustang lay in bed, hoping that today would be the day that someone would come bearing good news. And to his good fortune, good news came sooner than expected.

Hawkeye barged into Roy's room, and saluted him before she spoke, slightly out of breath, "Colonel Mustang sir!"

"Hello Lieutenant, is everything alright?"

"We believe to have found the location where Edward may be held."

Roy's dark eyes widened with disbelief, "You did? Where?" he asked desperately.

"In a deserted part of the city near the old train station. We found a van that may be the one you and Alphonse briefly were able to describe to us."

"Why aren't you barging in there now? Ed could be dying!"

"I'm sorry sir, I thought it best to speak with you first and hear what your opinion was of the matter. And besides, I need to gather the others who are home resting before I can conduct a search of the building."

Roy gritted his teeth in frustration, knowing that Riza was correct in coming to him first, and correct at not being able to waltz straight into the building without backup. Regardless, he was itching to find out if Ed was truly in that building, and his Lieutenant was going to have to be his eyes and ears in order for him to find out, while he anxiously waited on the sidelines.

After a long moment of the colonel not responding, Hawkeye spoke again, "Sir? What would you have me do?"

Shaking his head, ridding himself of distracting thoughts, Roy looked her directly in the eyes, "Get everyone who is home, and anyone who was out searching with you. I want you all ready within the hour, and down in that building, finding and saving Fullmetal."

"Yes sir!" she understood as she quickly departed the room to take out Mustang's orders.

Anxiety began to consume Roy's mind and body. He knew where Ed was now. They were going to save him. He would be able to hold him in his arms and finally tell him how he really felt. And maybe, just maybe, he and Ed could see if they would be able to make things work between them. Edward was worth the risk; worth risking getting his heartbroken by the golden-eyed teen. After seeing the look on his face before he ran out of the car towards his brother, Roy knew that the blonde truly cared about him. The deep confusing feelings were mutual, and it seemed they both wanted to make it work, or see where it would lead. And this brought unexpected joy to Roy's heart as he still lay in the slightly uncomfortable hospital bed. He knew he would see the man he fell in love with soon, and he couldn't wait for that moment; it couldn't come soon enough.

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The world around Ed was slowly becoming hazier by the hour. His mind grew slow, and he didn't know how much longer he would last in this state. He began to accept his fate; death would take him here. At least he was dying for his brother, just as it always should have been. The young alchemist regretted having put Roy in danger; and that it led to his death. He had been helpless to save him; he would never have the chance to tell him that he loved him. And these were the only thoughts that kept running through the blonde's mind as he slipped slowly, and closer to death's grip.

"Ahhhh dear Edward. Are you going to put an end to our playtime so soon? I was just truly starting to have fun." the cold voice of Pride sneered. "I admit, I'll miss you when you're gone. You were so much fun to torture. Too bad you'll probably be dead in a few more hours. At least I knew you went out in pain."

Ed could hear the smile on Pride's face when he had finished, the evil bastard had won. He got his wish. He was going to die here like he knew all too well now. Edward had wished that he had thought of a better plan than this, maybe one where he was allowed to live. One where he could have Roy for his own. But that life was long gone now.

"What's going on out there?!" he heard Pride hiss.

Ed took what was left of his energy to open his eyes and lift his head to investigate the sound that caused alarm in Pride. He could hear several guns being shot all at once. And angry confused screams that were all being silenced rapidly. A small spark of hope ignited itself inside of Ed; maybe he wasn't going to die here. Maybe rescue had finally come for him.

Shouting echoed throughout the building, and Pride began to pace frantically. He looked scared, and didn't know what to do. Ed smiled, served him right, after all he had done to him. After straining his hearing, he made out the voice of Lieutenant Hawkeye. She was ordering the men to search the building for him, and to take out any enemy that got in the way and posed a threat. He smiled weakly to himself, he was going to live, he was going to see Al's face again.

"I didn't expect them to find this place so soon Elric, it's a shame they're all going to have to die now." he said as the evil glint in his eyes reappeared.

"What can you do to stop all of them? Nothing! You're powerless now! And they're cutting your men down like it's nothing!" Ed reminded him.

"Oh dear boy. That's where you're wrong. You see," he paused, leaning in closer to Ed, and whispered, "I lied."

And with that, an evil grin spread across the man's face, as the familiar shadows that held eyes within them expanded from Pride's body. Horror filled Ed as he watched what was happening before him, it was a trap. Pride never lost his abilities; he had been lied to. Now he, and all of Roy's command, people he cared about, was going to die here. Rage boiled inside of Ed, why did everyone he love die have to die so soon? And around him of all places? He wouldn't stand for it; he wouldn't let their blood stain his hands if he could help it.

With all his might, as he heard many footsteps approach his cell, he screamed, "IT'S A TRAP! RUN!"

But once again, he was too late. Pride laughed and attacked with his shadowy blades. He heard shrieks of pain; shock. He cringed, not wanting this to happen, not wanting it to actually be real.

Pride smirked, turning around to face Ed, and said, "I may have come across another philosopher stone recently. It restored my powers, and now I feel whole again."

"Then why did you even want me if you had the power of the stone already?!" Ed asked in disbelief.

"Edward Elric. The boy who defeated me. Stripped me of my abilities, and left me to rot in that house with that dumb woman. I hated you. And I still do. So even when I regained my powers, I still thirsted for revenge, and now I've got it. Oh but how much sweeter it tastes now that I am going to kill your friends too!"

"Ed? Is that you? You're alright?" the familiar voice of Hughes rang out.

"Yeah Hughes! I'm here. I'm barely scraping by though. I'm sorry I got you all into this mess."

"Roy's gonna be relieved we found you." he responded.

"The colonel's alive..?" Ed asked in pure disbelief.

"Yeah, he-AHHHH!"

"Hughes?! Hughes?!"

"I was sick of hearing your sweet little exchanges. It makes me sick." Pride said disgustedly. "Now, I think it's time to end all your lives." he smiled.

Suddenly, flames burst out of nowhere and raged through Pride's shadows, completely eradicating them. Ed's heart pounded hopefully at the sight of the orange and yellow flames, feeling their familiar heat.

"Not if I can help it." the Flame Alchemist's voice boomed calmly throughout the room.

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_**Author's note: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked the chapter!**_

_**I encourage you to comment/review, I enjoy reading everyone's thoughts and opinions of the story! It brightens my day! =)**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**Author's note: So, this chapter didn't turn out to be nearly as long as I thought it was going to be. But, regardless, I think you all will enjoy it. Yes, I am thinking there will be only 1 or 2 more chapters guys. Unless I get some brilliant idea for something to add to this. So be prepared, and please enjoy! =)**_

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The surprise attack from Roy had actually caught Pride off guard, and the colonel relished in his triumphant and successful entrance. The dark-haired man examined his unfamiliar surroundings, trying to devise a strategy that would ultimately get everyone out alive; all except Pride.

Relief spread rapidly throughout his entire being at the sight of Edward being alive. But it was soon replaced with rage. The younger alchemist was completely utterly beaten and battered. bruises, scars, and bleeding wounds covered his body. Roy gritted his teeth and clenched his fists together tightly; restraining himself from making a reckless move that could cost everyone their lives.

"Let them go Pride, or I promise, there will be pain much sooner than intended for you." Roy warned boldly.

"Ah, so the Flame Alchemist has come out to play! How wonderful! I was told you died Colonel Mustang. And when I told little Edward over here, well, let's just say he didn't take the news very good." The man snickered.

Roy's heart hurt at the comment. Not only had Pride caused physical pain to Edward, he had caused him emotional pain as well. He couldn't even imagine what Ed might have gone through. As far as he knew, the golden-eyed teen had feelings for him in return. And if Roy had been told the blonde was dead, his world would have spiraled out of control. He probably wouldn't have been able to function properly without Ed in his world. Living a couple days, simply unsure if Edward was alive or not, was torture enough. Being told he was actually dead would have crushed him. But regardless of being told such heartbreaking news, Ed still pushed through, clinging to whatever life he had left; which was probably more than Roy could ever do.

"Seems like you supplied Fullmetal with false information. Because here I am Pride, alive and still breathing." He paused, a thoughtful look appeared on his face, "Oh, and Pride," the man stared at Roy more intensely than before at the sound of his name again, "before you even think about attacking me with you stone-fuled shadows, remember that I know you're useless in well-lit areas. And too bad for you that my specialty is fire, which I can make _very_ bright." He threatened in a light tone.

The colonel could se the slight hesitation on the evil bastard's face, and he let a small smirk slip. But no sooner did his smirk occur, that Pride began to laugh, "Silly colonel, what makes you think that you're my target? I have plenty more in this room. Are you willing to gamble the speed of your flames with the speed of my shadows? And even if you wanted to chance it, how are you supposed to anticipate who I will attack?" he finished, grinning ear-to-ear; seemingly very proud of his logic.

Worry briefly flashed for a split second on Roy/s face as his eyes almost unnoticeably darted first to Edward, then to the rest of his command.

The maniacal laughing continued as Pride spoke again, "Ah, so the most important one in the room to the almighty Roy Mustang is little Edward Elric; the equally loved and known Fullmetal Alchemist. I admit, I'm not surprised. From seeing the boy's reaction to your supposed death, and my henchmen's account of your failed rescue attempt, I could only assume that there was something of some sort of significance between you two. But now it's clear to me," it was Pride's turn to smirk in triumph, "you care for the boy. And he cares for you. But oh no, let me guess? It's the type of caring that would get you into trouble with the mili-"

"ENOUGH!" Roy snarled.

"Hit a nerve did I?" he chuckled, "Well, now I know who to harm that will cause you the most amount of suffering."

Roy's mind was whirling as he tried to figure out his plan of attack fast. But as he frantically tried to throw together a make-shift strategy, a picture out of his worst nightmares sprung to life. Without even blinking, Pride stuck Ed sharply in his flesh arm. He watched shock spring to life inside of the blonde's usually fierce and sure eyes. Roy winced at the pain-filled scream that left Edward's mouth. The sound reminded him of his saddening dreams where one, or both, Elrics would end up dying; and where he was helpless to save either of them.

"How does it feel Mustang? To know that the pain he is in right now is your entire fault. You could not save him in the first place, and now during your second attempt you've become the reason once again why this dear boy has gotten hurt." An evil fire began to light up in Pride's black eyes as he continued to enjoy his own words and voice, "How does it feel Roy?! Tell me! Beg for me to not kill him in front of you!" he began to rant insanely.

"Burn in hell." Roy told him darkly.

And with those words said, flames erupted from beneath Pride; raging fiercely.

"FIRE!" Riza roared.

Bullets began to hit the center of the flames that engulfed the homunculus. It was now his turn to feel pain; to scream in agony.

Fingers continuously clicking, Roy looked to Hughes, "Hughes!"

His friend looked back, waiting for his order.

"Go get Fullmetal! He's too close to Pride! He hollered over the sound of the fire and firing guns.

Maes nodded, his green eyes filled with determination, not wanting to fail his commanding officer, and his friend.

"Be careful!" Roy shouted last second as the man with the glasses was already halfway to Ed's position.

Roy alerted the others of what Hughes was up to, and they began to fire more carefully, in order not to hit either their comrade or Edward. After informing his subordinates of what Maes was doing, Roy made sure to aim his flames even more precisely than before; confining them to an even smaller perimeter around Pride. He watched Hughes intently, while still snapping his fingers toward the screaming homunculus. His friend had finally reached the tied-down blonde, and was cutting the restraints from his wrists with his always-handy knives. Black eyes continued to watch as Ed very slowly sat up from the table he had previously been bound to. But in that split second of the colonel paying the slightest more attention to Ed than Pride, he slowed his onslaught of flames, which gave the vengeful creature its chance to strike back.

Without warning, the dark-haired colonel had no time to react as Pride's shadow spear came barreling towards him. He shut his eyes, bracing for the inevitable impact that was only split seconds away from hitting him. He knew his flames wouldn't be quick enough, so he kept his black eyes shut; waiting for the deathly shadows to pierce his chest; but it didn't happen. Slowly, and unsurely, Roy opened his dark eyes, only to see Pride doubled over. A spear that was not Pride's own protruded from his chest. But instead of seeing the regenerative red sparks of healing coming from the homunculus, blood soaked his clothes. Edward stood next to Maes, panting like he had just done a strenuous workout.

"Ah. So you exhausted the stone's regenerative powers. I didn't expect them to die out so soon." Pride said slowly, through labored breathing, "Congratulations colonel. You won. And it looks like you saved the boy." He fell down to the ground, still gasping for air and clinging to his pitiful life, he continued to speak, "Edward Elric, it seems you have killed me again." He mustered to say before closing his eyes one last time and finally letting death take him.

After Pride's final words were spoken, Roy bolted over the burnt ground to Edwards and Hughes, eager to make sure the pair were alright. He stopped in front of them, slightly out of breath from his short run because of how excited, relieved, and anxious he was about the events that had just unfolded in front of him only moments before.

"Ed, was that you who just saved me?"

The blonde looked completely exhausted, but he still smiled, as he answered, "Well I couldn't let the bastard kill you could I? I couldn't let my best chance of survival die. So, I clapped my hands together and hurled a spear to stop him. Looks like I have pretty good aim doesn't it?" he smirked teasingly.

Roy could only stare at the blonde alchemist in amazement that he was still alive and standing before him. By some miracle, he noticed Hughes had slipped away towards the others to give them some privacy. He continued to return the golden gaze that always mesmerized him. He couldn't believe it still. They had done it. They has saved Ed, and Al. And he was still alive too, by some crazy twist of fate.

"I'm so happy you're alive." Roy said as he pulled Ed into a loving embrace, as if they stayed this way, nothing could harm them, and nothing would go wrong.

Ed looked up at Roy, and he could see that the blonde looked just as relieved to see him. In fact, he looked overjoyed, and if Mustang hadn't known better, he could have sworn there was the faintest hint of tears in those beautiful golden eyes.

Roy felt Edward pull himself closer to him, burying his face in his shoulder, "I thought I lost you. I-I thought I would never see you again. And it would have been my fault that you died." He confessed sadly.

"I thought I lost _you_."

"Roy?" Edward began unsurely as he unburied his face from the older man's shoulder.

"Ed?" he responded nervously.

"I-I love you."

Roy's heart leapt from his chest at the sudden confession. He swelled with joy. He stared lovingly at the younger man. And without even thinking, Roy did what he knew felt right, he leaned in and met Ed's lips with his own. It was like the kiss allowed him to taste the true depths of the blonde's emotions and feelings; and he hoped his were conveyed just as clearly. After finally pulling away, all the dark-haired man could do was search Edward's face for his reaction.

"What? No I love you back Colonel?" he teased.

Mustang leaned in again, this time gently placing their foreheads together, "I love you too Edward Elric."

A triumphant smirk spread across the teen's face, and it made Roy smile like an idiot.

:Come on, you need to get to the hospital. You don't look so hot."

"But Roy, you don't think I'm hot?" Ed teased again.

"Oh shut up." Was his only response as he gave him another quick kiss. He then led them out to the others, so they could all head back to the hospital.

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**_Author's note: I love comments and reviews! So I would appreciate you letting me know what you thought! Thanks for reading guys! =)_**


	18. Chapter 18

_**Author's note: Hey guys! I am so sorry this took ages to finally get out here to you all! I have been so busy with life lately! But here it is! The final chapter of Recovery! I want to thank you all so much for putting your own time into this and leaving comments and reviews, or simply just reading my story. I appreciate it so much, and I hope you all enjoyed my first efforts at writing! Enjoy the final chapter everyone!**_

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Ed woke up in an unfamiliar place. The walls were a solid dull white, and the room smelt…too clean. The hazy fog of sleep still gripped him before he slowly remembered where he was.

He was safe in the hospital. Looking at the clock, he noted that he hadn't even been here for a day. Edward recollected the events that allowed him to be here. Roy and the rest of his command had saved his life. They had actually found him. He was now ashamed that he had been brought so low and had lost faith in his friends. He had truly believed that he was going to die in that godforsaken building alone with Pride; not ever being able to see his loved ones ever again. But he has been absolutely wrong, they had come to his rescue; _he_ came to his rescue. It was still hard for the blonde alchemist to comprehend that Roy had survived that fatal gunshot. He had watched the colonel fall to the ground. Watched as blood poured from his body. He would definitely be demanding an explanation from the older man to see how he had miraculously survived.

Edward sighed to himself; he didn't like how he continued to question how the colonel was still alive. All that mattered was that he _was _still alive; and that he loved him. Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, loved _him _Edward Elric. Now this knowledge was unreal. What right did he have to Roy's love? He never thought anyone would ever love him like the dark-haired man seemed to, and it filled Ed with happy feelings and little butterflies. Thinking of the butterflies that occurred at the mere thought of the older man reminded him of the first kiss they had shared just the day before. The kiss was the most passionate and heartfelt one he had ever received. In that moment, when Roy's lips were against his, he knew how much that he loved him. It was like Mustang couldn't even hide or contain his love, and Ed was able to taste the truth in that kiss. The blonde hoped that the dark-haired man was also able to tell how much he loved him in return. Now longing to recapture that intimate moment, Ed wondered where Roy was. And, as if the colonel could read Ed's thoughts, he walked into Ed's room.

"How you feeling sleepy head?" Roy asked in an adorable tone.

"Still pretty sore. But, I actually feel quite a bit better after sleeping." He stopped, and watched the older man open the blinds, letting the sun into the room, "How long was I out anyway?"

Roy's black eyes glanced upwards, pondering the answer, "Uhh, I'm not sure," he chuckled, "I mean, the second we laid you down on that bed, you were out like a light. And you've been asleep ever since. But if I really had to guess, you probably have been asleep for at least 13 hours."

"Ah, so that's why you weren't at my bedside when I woke up!" he joked; flashing the huge smile that rarely appeared on his face.

Roy walked over to Ed, and sat on the edge of the bed, "That, and I had some stuff to clear up with my superiors. And I took a nap in between." He smiled.

Ed's smile faded a little, replaced with a more questioning and concerned one, "Roy," he stopped briefly, looking directly into the man's eyes, "how did you survive that gunshot?" he asked in an almost childlike voice.

Mustang sighed, "I don't even know I survived it initially. I really thought it was the end of the line for me. Luckily though, Hughes got there just in time. Any later than he had already arrived, I most definitely would have died." Ed's stiffened reaction to the word 'die' caused Roy to pause ad reach out his hand, placing It reassuringly on Ed's own, "But by some miracle, or maybe my will to live, kept me here." He finished in a comforting tone.

The blonde took a moment to process the information; eyes cast downwards at the hand on his. Roy was rubbing his thumb gently, and soothingly, across the side of his; it calmed Ed, and he was able to ask another question, "But. If you were hurt so badly, how are you okay now? It has only been a few days since you got hurt."

A smirk appeared on the colonel's usually serious face. "Ahh. Well, I had a little help with that one. You see, after being told by Hawkeye that they had most likely discovered your location, I had to give them their orders. I of course, had to stay behind in my condition, and I wasn't happy about it. But while I was lying in my bed, restless and still severely injured, I saw someone."

Edward titled his head, now even more curious oh how Roy came to be healed.

"I saw Mei. And the second I did, my body reacted before my mind could, and I yelled out her name. She of course, came into the room to see who was calling for her. I instantly asked her to heal me, so I could help the team rescue you. And of course, she obliged." He smirked, black eyes shining bright, "And that, Fullmetal, is how I am miraculously healed. I'm still sore, but much better than before obviously."

"I'm glad she was here and you saw her, otherwise I really think that Pride would have killed all of us." Ed said quietly.

Glancing back up, the young alchemist saw that Roy had slowly moved closer to him; his face leaning towards his own. And just as Ed began to lean nearer as well, he saw a familiar face in the doorway.

Alphonse.

"Al?!" Ed said enthusiastically, as he simultaneously noticed Roy pull his face and hands away.

"Hey brother." Al smiled warmly as he quickly walked to the side opposite of Mustang and hugged the blonde.

"I've missed you so much!" Edward told his younger brother with a muffled voice; due to his face being buried in his shirt.

"I've missed you too. I was so worried about you Ed." He hugged him tighter.

"I'm just happy you look like you're doing fine."

"I was only dehydrated and hungry." He chuckled, and then looked at both of the men in the room with him, "Thank you both. Ed, for saving my life, and risking your own. And to you colonel, you almost died trying to save us both, and yet you still were brave enough to try again and save my brother. Thank you so much. I owe you two more than I could ever repay."

Edward grinned, "Aw Al, we're both just doing our job. I'm being a good big brother, and Mustang, he's saving my ass cause he has to." He joked.

"There is no need to ever repay me Alphonse, you both are worth the risk." Mustang added in as he stood up. He looked around the room with slight awkwardness, and spoke again, "Well, I should probably let you two catch up."

"No colonel, stay. Please. I can catch up with brother later. Besides, I'm sure you two have some official military business to attend to still. I believe I interrupted you two at a very important moment." He said, with a knowing tone in his voice.

Ed's face turned a light shade of pink at his brother's words. He knew that tone. That was the tone Al used when he knew something about him that he hadn't actually divulged yet. Alphonse already knew about him and Mustang. Were they really that obvious? Or was his little brother honestly just that attentive to detail and how people acted? Either way, he knew, and the blonde was thankful for the time alone with Roy. He had so many more questions to ask him; and a kiss or two didn't sound bad either.

"See ya Al." Edward said.

The younger Elric nodded, smirking, and promptly departed.

After watching his brother leave, Ed looked back at Roy; the older man already staring at the blonde.

"Does he know?" Roy asked in an almost frantic whisper.

Ed nodded, "I think so." He chuckled.

"Why is that funny? We can't let word get out about us. I mean. I didn't realize we were so obvious…"

"It's fine Roy," he paused, "that still is odd for me to call you," he smirked, "Al won't tell anyone. He is just unnaturally observant and all-knowing about these things." He assured him.

A noticeable sigh of relief escaped Mustang's chest as his shoulders eased their way back into a comfortable position.

Edward reached out and placed a hand atop of Roy's this time, "Are you okay with trying to make this work? I wouldn't want you to lose your job for me…"

"Edward" he began, taking Edward's hand into his own, "You are most definitely worth the risk and more he said as he leaned in and kissed the blonde.

After a few moments of the simple sweet kiss, Roy deepened their kiss. A small moan escaped Ed's throat, and Mustang pulled away. Ed gave him a playful glare, not wanting Roy to have pulled away so soon.

"You know, you kiss very well." Ed told him.

"You aren't so bad yourself Fullmetal." Roy returned the compliment. "And, there really was no need to inform me of my kissing abilities Edward, because I could figure out that much on my own from the noise you made." He teased.

"Are you challenging me colonel?" the golden-eyed teen teased right back. He then leaned in closer to Roy until his breath was hot on his ear, "'Cause if it is, I accept." He whispered seductively.

Ed could feel the conflict in Roy's body at the tempting words. Conflict of giving in right here; or restraining himself. To the blonde's distaste, the colonel chose the latter.

The man cleared his throat before speaking, "Sorry Ed. Now probably isn't the best time to get comfortable with one another. I only say this because you're still healing, and our current location isn't the smartest place to start something like that." He stated in a husky voice, before stopping, getting a mischievous look in his eye, and spoke again, "Otherwise," his gloved hand slid down Ed's arm, "I would have you right now." He finished tugging the blonde closer to himself.

"Damn you colonel." Ed growled playfully, "you're such a tease."

"Only for you."

"Shut-up!" he ordered; gently shoving him away.

Mustang sighed annoyed, "Not that I don't want to keep this playful banter up, but I probably need to ask you some questions now that you're awake. Otherwise, my superiors will come to question you if I don't do it myself."

"Well lay it on my Mustang."

Roy smirked at the response, and took a deep breath, trying to remember all the questions he had to ask Edward.

After a long discussion of all the recent events, the two alchemists began to go over and sort out all the details and information they had just gone over.

"So the unknown people who were terrorizing the city were Pride's henchmen?"

"Yes," the dark-haired man clarified, "Hawkeye and the rest of the group simply stunned the men when they went in to rescue you. They only shot to wound and immobilize, not to kill. And now they're all being held in jail for their crimes."

"Well I'm glad that that is sorted out for us. I don't think I would have been much help." He chuckled.

"You know, we could always have Mei heal you." Roy suggested, stroking Ed's hair.

"I would actually like that. I really don't want to be in this hospital any longer than necessary. It stinks." He crinkled his nose.

"You're so cute Ed."

"You really should stop being so nice to me." He joked.

"Make me." Roy tempted.

Leaning in for another kiss, they were once again interrupted; this time by Hughes.

"Hey there lovebirds!" he greeted loudly.

"Could you be any louder Hughes?!" Roy hissed.

"Are you worried that someone will hear me? Because there is no need for me to 'blow your cover', because you're doing a fine job of that yourself. You two have been in here alone for nearly three hours!" he informed his friend light-heartedly, "And to answer your question, yes, I could be much louder." He laughed.

Edward could see Roy blush in embarrassment at the truth of his friend's words; and all he could do was restrain laughter.

"Anyway Roy, I came in here to tell you that I believe everything has been taken care of with the Furher and our other superiors. So there is no need for you to continue questioning Ed here."

"Thanks for letting me know."

"No problem," he answered as he began to leave the room that he had just entered.

"Hey Hughes!" Ed stopped him.

He turned back around, and looked at Ed. "Hm?'

"How do you know?"

A smile crept onto Maes' face before he answered the blonde's question, "Are you kissing? Everyone know you two liked, no _loved,_ each other except you two!" he exclaimed excitedly, as if he had been waiting to get that off of his chest for ages.

It was the blonde's turn to blush, and he saw Roy admiring him from the corner of his eye.

"Is that all Elric?" Hughes asked smirking.

"That's all." Ed replied, with a slight playful eye roll.

Hughes finally departed, leaving the pair alone once more, and Edward looked to Roy expectantly.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Kiss me?" the golden-eyed teen requested.

And the colonel obliged to his request. Ed was in heaven, and bursting with absolute passion at the perfect moment he was sharing with the man he loved.

Pulling reluctantly away, and slowly, Ed stopped the kiss and said to Roy, "I probably should see Al again. Considering how long Hughes said we've been in here. Not that I want to go." He reassured.

"I understand Ed. It's okay." He smiled, "but just know, when you're feeling better, you're coming to my place."

Ed's heart skipped a beat as he managed a nod.

"Good, I'll go get Alphonse for you." He smiled before giving Edward a quick kiss on the forehead and leaving.

Edward couldn't believe that that man was all his, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him.

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_**Epilogue: Three Years Later**_

Edward awoke from deep peaceful sleep. He was lying next to his lover; limbs intertwined. The blonde gazed at the beautiful dark hair that fell onto Roy's pale face. He would never be able to tire of the older man's beauty; it was impossible. Thinking of that, he thought himself naïve to have once believed that he would never be able to love a single person this much; and to be loved the same in return. Edward thought he would never get used to the idea of Roy loving him; and he was right. Even after their three years of being together, he still got nervous and awkward around him sometimes; but they were also best friends as well as lovers, and that's how he knew this was real.

Tiring of waiting for the man to wake up, Ed gently nudged Roy's nose with is own. This only caused Roy to wrinkle his nose and twitch, so the blonde tried a different approach. He untangled his arms from Roy's, and gently brushed his flesh hand up and down Roy's bare side. After a few moments the older man stirred, making a happy noise.

"Mhmm. Ed. Good morning." He said sleepily.

"Morning sleepyhead." Ed returned, placing a soft kiss on Roy's lips.

"Come back." Was what the dark-haired man said when Edward didn't kiss him again.

"We have to get up." He reminded.

Roy opened his eyes for the first time this morning, looked into Ed's golden ones, and said, "Come on. We have a little time to fool around still." He tried convincing Ed as he pressed his body closer to Ed's.

Ed groaned, conflicted, "We have to get ready or we'll be late."

Roy rolled onto his back, defeated, and the blonde smiled at his triumph.

"Since when did you become, the older, more mature one Fullmetal?"

"Since now!" he exclaimed as he threw the covers off of them both, "now get out of bed! Or we are going to be late for the wedding!"

The blonde alchemist watched as his lover reluctantly dragged himself out of bed.

"You know, I don't think Al will mind if we're a tad late." Roy tried convincing once more.

Edward rolled his eyes, "Really Roy? This is the one time I'm sure he would kill me for being late!" he said getting out of bed and heading over to the bathroom to get ready; but he was stopped by Mustang.

Roy started at Ed directly in the eyes, with such a loving look, that Ed had to ask, "What?"

"I love you Edward Elric."

Ed blushed, "I love you too Roy." He glanced around, "Okay, now let me go so I can shower, or I know I am going to end up throwing you back on that bed."

"Alright, you win, hurry up so I can shower too."

Ed smiled, how did he ever get to lucky to end up with Roy.

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_**Author's note: Thanks again for reading! Please, stay tuned for future stories! And if any of you have any suggestions or ideas for a story, please let me know! I would love to hear from you guys! =)**_


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